No. 4 UT Fights Off FSU, 8-5

Saturday, March 1

Columbus, Ga.

University of Tennessee

17-1

Florida State

11-8

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Tennessee	0	1	2	0	0	2	3	8	6	2
Florida State	0	0	0	2	0	3	0	5	7	1

March 01, 2008 | Softball

Box Score

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ga. ??? Three runs in the top of the seventh inning, keyed by a clutch RBI single from senior catcher Shannon Doepking, helped break a late deadlock as No. 4 Tennessee (17-1) battled past a tough Florida State squad, 8-5, on Saturday morning at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga.

Freshman first baseman Jen Lapicki led the way for the Big Orange offense with a 3-for-4 effort at the plate, three singles and four RBI.?? Doepking delivered a 2-for-4, two-RBI performance, while sophomore designated player Tiffany Huff managed an RBI via a bases loaded walk.?? The Saugus, Calif., native recorded a free pass in all four of her at-bats during the contest.

Freshman pitcher Ashton Ward worked 2.2 innings of relief, allowing three unearned runs on five hits to pick up her 10th victory of the season.?? Senior Megan Rhodes started the contest for the Orange & White and re-entered to start the seventh to tally her second save of the campaign.?? The Nashville, Tenn., product permitted two runs on two hits over 4.1 total innings of work.

Following a quiet first frame, Tennessee got its lead-off hitter on in the top of the second as Doepking ripped a shot into center field for a base knock.?? Pinch runner Kelsey Stander took off and swiped second recording her seventh consecutive successful stolen base to begin her career in the Orange & White.?? After a K, Huff drew her team-best 14th walk of the year to place a pair aboard.?? With two retired following another strikeout, Lapicki bounced a shot up the middle that threatened to reach center.?? FSU shortstop Ashley Stager raced behind the second base bag and made a diving grab of the grounder to keep it on the infield.?? Stager leapt to her feet and threw towards home plate, but the orb was cut off by the pitcher allowing UT to tally its first run.?? Florida State hurler Sarah Hamilton ended the frame by striking out the side, but not without allowing Tennessee an early 1-0 lead.?? Entering today???s contest the Big Orange were 14-0 this season when scoring the game???s initial run.

With Rhodes having retired all six Seminoles she had faced through two frames, the UT offense set to work adding to its advantage in the top of the third.?? Hammond started things off with a clean single through the right side of the infield.?? Posey drew a walk, and Callahan was struck in the center of the back by a pitch to load the bases with no one retired.?? That ended the day for Hamilton in the circle for FSU as Head Coach Dr. Joanne Graf made a call to the bullpen bringing in Terese Gober in relief. Doepking immediately grounded out to short plating Hammond and improving the lead to 2-0.?? A wild pitch from Gober allowed Posey the opportunity to race across the plate from 60 feet away as UT nabbed a 3-0 advantage.?? With freshman pinch runner Natalee Weissinger occupying third and two outs, ball four to Huff got away from Seminole catcher Jessica Gilmore and rolled to the backstop.?? Tennessee???s runner took off toward the plate, but was tagged out by a diving Gilmore to save the run and conclude the inning.

Florida State got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth with one out against Rhodes.?? After a walk was issued to center fielder Carly Wynn, first baseman Brittany Osmon drove a two-run blast to deep right field, cutting the deficit to 3-2.?? That brought an end to Rhodes??? first stint in the circle as co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly made the move to the bullpen to summon in Ward.?? Despite an infield error that placed a FSU runner aboard, Tennessee???s freshman hurler got control by inducing a groundout back to the circle and a fly out to right to end the frame with no further damage.

Tennessee added two very important runs in the top of the sixth on the benefit of a Seminole error, a walk and a two-run base hit.?? With one retired in the frame, Webb launched a shot to left that was misplayed by Whitney Buckmon for an error allowing the Hemet, Calif., native to race safely into second.?? Huff walked for the third time in the match-up to place two aboard.?? With a pair of outs, Lapicki singled to right center field bringing both runners across with a pair of crucial runs for a 5-2 advantage.

No one had any idea at the time how important those extra tallies would be until the bottom of the sixth when the Seminoles got a scoring attack christened against Ward.?? With one out Osmon drilled a sharp single into left.?? Designated player Allison Collins followed with a K, and Tennessee seemed close to escaping the inning with no damage.?? FSU had other ideas, however, as right fielder Monica Montez singled and then an infield error loaded the bags.?? Consecutive base knocks from third baseman Michelle Snyder and pinch hitter Camille Garcia brought home a combined three scores as the Garnet and Gold fought to a 5-5 tie through six innings.

The Orange & White responded immediately in the top of the seventh by sending nine Lady Vols to the dish while plating three runs to avoid extra action.?? Walks to Hammond and Posey placed two on to start the inning, and Callahan was hit by a pitch for the second time in the match-up to load the bases.?? As she has done so often throughout her career, Doepking stepped in the box and delivered an RBI liner to right for the eventual game-winning hit, granting the Lady Vols a 6-5 advantage.?? A bases loaded free pass issued to Huff and an RBI single up the middle by Lapicki finalized the offense count at 8-5, UT.

Rhodes re-entered the game in a potential save situation during the bottom of the seventh.?? Despite allowing a two-out double to left center by Osmon, the Nashville, Tenn., product induced a pair of fly ball outs and a liner that traveled directly to Posey at short to conclude the hard-fought contest.??????????

No. 4 Tennessee???s participation in the prestigious NFCA Leadoff Classic will continue Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. versus Illinois State.?? Live stats will be available through utladyvols.com for the two contests and, as always, periodic updates of the UT games will be recorded on the Lady Vol Hotline (865-974-8700, box #6).