University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Tennessee State
Lapicki Leads UT to 4-1 Triumph Over TSU
March 12, 2008 | Softball
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ??? Paced by the fourth home run of the season from freshman Jen Lapicki, the No. 6 Lady Vol softball squad (23-3) finished off a doubleheader sweep with a 4-1 victory over in-state rival Tennessee State Wednesday night at Lee Softball Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.?? The Oldwick, N.J., native put together a 2-for-3 effort, notching a pair of RBIs and scoring two runs in the game.
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Junior left fielder Lillian Hammond also had a solid day at the plate for the Big Orange, punching out a pair of singles in three at-bats, in addition to knocking in a run and stealing a base. With four solid innings of work in the circle, freshman Ashton Ward moved her record to 13-2 on the season. She allowed just one hit and struck out five before giving way to senior Megan Rhodes who went the final three innings to earn her fourth save this year.??
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Ward got off to a blistering start in the circle for the Big Orange by striking out three consecutive batters spanning the first and second innings.?? The Charlotte, N.C., native retired six of the seven Tennessee State batters she faced over the initial two frames.
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A Tiger infield miscue granted UT its initial base runner with one down in the bottom of the second as a ground ball off the bat of designated player was thrown low and outside of first to pull Royesha Goodman off the bag.?? With Lapicki at first, sophomore center fielder Erinn Webb drove a shot to left center for a double as the runner advanced to third.?? Following a Lady Vol K, Hammond singled to deep short as Lapicki crossed for a 1-0 Tennessee lead.?? With runners at the corners the Big Orange attempted to pull off the double steal.?? Hammond successfully swiped second, but Webb was gunned down attempting to reach home plate ending the inning.
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The strikeout total for Ward reached five through three innings of work as center fielder Jill Gardner and second baseman Jennifer Gregory each went down swinging in the top of the third against Tennessee???s 6-0 right hander.
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TSU threatened in the top of the fourth with two down as first baseman Royesha Goodman and left fielder Nicole Vincent each battled Ward to draw consecutive walks.?? Tiger catcher Jalisa Bradley battled to a full count before weakly grounding out to senior Kenora Posey.?? The Los Angeles, Calif., product fielded the sphere and threw on to sophomore Tiffany Huff at first to end the threat.
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With one retired in the bottom of the fourth, Huff ripped an offering from TSU hurler Amanda Vaught back up the middle for a single.?? Freshman pinch runner Kelsey Stander entered at first to add some speed to the base paths and the move paid off.?? Lapicki ripped a shot that traveled just inside the bag and down the left field line into the corner for an RBI double, improving the Tennessee advantage to 2-0.??
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Tennessee State designated player Melanie Cruz christened the fifth with a walk against reliever Rhodes.?? The Big Orange???s 5-8 right hander rebounded by catching a pop-up off the bat of center fielder Jill Gardner and throwing behind the runner at first for a double play.?? A groundout off the bat of Gregory ended the inning as UT maintained its two-run lead.
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Hammond delivered a lead-off single to open the bottom of the fifth and started another Big Orange scoring threat.?? Following a foul out and a fielder???s choice, Posey swiped second to reach scoring position.?? Senior third baseman Tonya Callahan ripped an RBI base knock back up the middle to score Posey and make it 3-0.?? The RBI was the 202nd of her career moving the Holden, Mo., native within just one of tying former Lady Vol Kristi Durant???s program mark (203).?? Senior catcher Shannon Doepking followed with a double into the left field corner as Callahan raced into third.?? Huff got a lot of bat on a Vaught offering but flew out harmlessly to left field as the inning concluded.??
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The lead grew to 4-0 leading off the bottom of the sixth as Lapicki blasted a solo home run to deep left field, her fourth of the season.??
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Down to the last chance in regulation, left fielder Nicole Vincent christened the top of the seventh with a walk against Rhodes.?? Pinch hitter Chelsea Brown joined her on the base paths via a free pass placing runners at first and second with still no one down.?? Rhodes managed to strikeout Cruz for an important first out, bringing pinch hitter Caitlin Eaton to the dish in the vital situation.?? With a 1-0 count, she was struck by a pitch to load the bases and bring the potential tying run to the plate in the form of TSU???s Gregory.?? She hammered a deep fly to center, but Webb tracked it down to record the second out as Vincent crossed the dish on a sacrifice fly cutting the deficit to 4-1.?? With runners at first and third, right fielder Tamara Perkins struck out swinging to end the game.
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No. 6 Tennessee will return to Southeastern Conference action on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET with a doubleheader against Kentucky at Lee Softball Stadium.?? Live stats will be available through utladyvols.com and, as always, periodic updates of the UT game will be recorded on the Lady Vol Hotline (865-974-8700, box #6).
