Ward's one-hitter paces UT by ETSU, 7-0

Wednesday, April 2

Knoxville, Tenn.

University of Tennessee

33-7

ETSU

16-24

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
ETSU	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Tennessee	5	0	0	2	0	0	X	7	10	0

April 02, 2008 | Softball

Box Score

Box Score

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ??? Led by a complete-game one hitter and a career-high 11 strikeouts from freshman pitcher Ashton Ward and two RBI each from senior Tonya Callahan, freshman Jen Lapicki and junior Danielle Pieroni, No. 12 Tennessee (33-7, 7-6 Southeastern Conference) completed a Wednesday doubleheader sweep over East Tennessee State with a 7-0 victory at the Lee Softball Stadium.

A native of Charlotte, N.C., Ward improved to 19-3 on the season after taking a no-hitter into the seventh frame before surrendering her only hit of the contest.?? She faced just two batters over the 21-hitter minimum for seven innings and allowed only one Lady Buc to reach second base.

Callahan recorded three of Tennessee???s 10 hits as part of a 3-for-4 effort with a double and two RBI.?? That performance extended the Holden, Mo., product???s current hitting streak to 10 games, tying her season-high and standing just one game short of equaling her career-best mark.?? Lapicki and Pieroni each went 1-for-2 with two-RBI doubles, while freshman second baseman Chandra Mogan was 1-for-2 with an RBI via a fourth-inning single.?? Rookie designated player Kelly Grieve tortured ETSU by registering a base hit and a walk while stealing a career-high three bases and scoring twice.

???I think in game one we may have sat back with our three-run lead, and thought we had it made,??? Lady Vol Head Coach Ralph Weekly said.?? ???ETSU responded with a strong offensive effort in the sixth inning to tie the game, and then we had to battle hard to win.?? Our kids had no sense of panic.?? They fought hard and pulled it out.?? Tiffany Huff came up with a huge clutch hit for us in the bottom of the seventh.

???In between games of the doubleheader the coaching staff challenged the team to come out in the second contest with more passion and energy.?? They responded with a five-spot in the first inning.?? I thought Ashton Ward pitched really well in the second game, and Jen Lapicki, Danielle Pieroni and Tonya Callahan had big two-RBI doubles for our offense.??

???Mid-week games are common during the conference season and are very tough on the student-athletes.?? It???s sometimes a struggle to get going on a Tuesday or Wednesday when you know you have big conference weekends coming up.???

Ward ripped through the ETSU line-up one-two-three in the top of the first while recording a pair of strikeouts.?? Lady Buc Katy Jett christened the frame with a groundout to short and was followed by consecutive K???s from shortstop Cheniece Cason and pitcher Marissa Hardy.

That brought the Lady Vol offense up to the plate looking for a quick start to the finale, and boy, did the Big Orange make their presence felt in a big way.?? In the opening frame, Tennessee sent nine batters to the plate while plating five runs for a quick 5-0 advantage.?? Grieve led off the inning by drawing a walk off ETSU hurler Marissa Hardy and promptly swiped second.?? Mogan dropped a perfect sacrifice bunt out in front of the plate advancing the runner 60 feet to third.?? The move paid off immediately as co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly asked Callahan to pull off the squeeze play.?? The Holden, Mo., native laid down a bunt that not only allowed Grieve to score, but was in a good enough spot that Callahan beat the throw to first.?? Up 1-0, Doepking drilled a shot into the gap in right center for a single that was misplayed by center fielder Katy Jett for an error.?? That allowed Doepking and Callahan to end up at second and third base, respectively.?? Huff walked to load the bags for Oldwick, N.J., native Lapicki, and she came through in the clutch with a two-RBI double into the left center field gap to post a three-run lead.?? That ended the day in the circle for ETSU starting pitcher Hardy as coach Andrea Mangrum summoned in Ashley Boyd in relief.?? Following a pop-up on the infield by sophomore center fielder Erinn Webb and with runners occupying second and third, Pieroni greeted the new Lady Buc hurler with a two-out, two-bagger well over Jett???s head in center and off the wall.?? That plated two more runs as Tennessee nabbed a commanding 5-0 advantage.?? Posey grounded out back to the circle to end the inning, but not before the Lady Vols had already tallied five times via four hits and two walks.

Through four frames Ward was truly cruising having struck out two batters in each inning while allowing just two base runners.?? Right fielder Katie Henderson reached safely after being struck by an offering in the second, and Hardy coaxed a one-out walk from Ward in the fourth.??

Tennessee???s offense opened another two-out threat in the bottom of the fourth as Grieve singled to deep short.?? The Asheville, N.C., native swiped consecutive bases off Boyd and eventually reached third with Mogan stepping to the plate.?? The Fontana, Calif., product singled to right scoring Grieve for a 6-0 lead.?? Pinch runner Nicole Kajitani entered to run for Mogan and quickly found herself at home plate as Callahan blasted an RBI double to the wall in left center as the Big Orange nabbed a seven-run advantage.?? Following a walk issued to Doepking, Huff bounced out to Amanda Haverman up the first base line, finally concluding the assault.

Three outs from her first career no-hitter and having retired six straight batters through the fifth and sixth frames, Ward permitted a lead-off double to Hardy that dropped just inches inside the chalk down the right field line.?? The runner was quickly wiped off the base paths via a double play as Callahan corralled a sharp grounder from catcher Trisha Massenzo, threw across the diamond to first for the force and had Lapicki throw back to Kajitani covering third cutting down Hardy attempting to advance.?? Henderson grounded out routinely to second base to conclude the one-hit shutout.????

No. 12 Tennessee returns to conference action this weekend as Georgia visits Lee Softball Stadium for an important three-game set.?? First pitch for Saturday???s doubleheader is slated for 1 p.m. ET.?? Live stats will be available through utladyvols.com and, as always, periodic updates of the UT games will be recorded on the Lady Vol Hotline (865-974-8700, box #6).