University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
49-15
Louisville
31-23
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 0 |
| Louisville | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
Lapicki perfect as UT eliminates Louisville
May 17, 2008 | Softball
Box Score??|??Quotes????| Photos??
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ??? Freshman first baseman Jen Lapicki delivered a perfect 4-for-4 effort at the dish with four RBIs including a two-run homer and sophomore center fielder Erinn Webb tripled in two runs as No. 13 Tennessee (49-15) staved off elimination with a commanding 8-1 victory over Louisville (31-23) on Saturday evening at the Lee Softball Stadium.?? UT will now have to defeat No. 16 Virginia Tech (46-15) twice on Sunday to reach the NCAA Super Regionals with first pitch of the day slated for 1:30 p.m. ET.
The Big Orange offense banged out 11 hits while plating one run in both the first and third innings, four in the fifth and two more in the seventh.?? In addition to Lapicki and Webb???s (2-for-4) efforts, junior designated player Lillian Hammond and senior shortstop Kenora Posey keyed the speed game with a pair of base knocks each.?? Posey also swiped her 44th base of the campaign, equaling the Lady Vol single-season school record for thefts set by former UT All-American India Chiles in 2007.?? Sophomore right fielder Tiffany Huff was 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in the contest.
Senior hurler Megan Rhodes recorded win number 22 of 2008 by allowing just five hits and one earned run with seven K???s in a complete-game effort.????
???I was really proud of our pitching during this game,??? Lady Vol co-head coach Karen Weekly said.?? ???I thought the key to this game was that we only walked one batter, we didn???t hit anybody and we made them earn everything they got.?? Megan (Rhodes) pitched very tough.?? She has thrown a lot of innings for us this weekend, and I know she???ll be ready to go again tomorrow.?? I???m pleased to have Jen Lapicki and Erinn Webb sitting next to me on the dais because it means they responded to the challenge we presented to them before the game that we really needed their sticks in the line-up.?? Jen went 4-for-4 with four RBIs and Erinn was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.?? We need that kind of production from the bottom of the order.?? We challenged them all in the third or fourth inning and told them we needed to put some more runs on the board, take some of the pressure off the pitchers and they did it.?? I think Louisville is a very good team and Kristen Wadwell threw really well this weekend.?? I think fatigue got to her after a while.?? She is an excellent pitcher, and they are a tough team.???
Tennessee wasted little time getting a scoring threat started in the top of the first as Hammond started things off by beating out an infield bunt single and advancing to second on a throwing error by Louisville catcher Melissa Roth.?? Freshman second baseman Chandra Mogan reached on a fielding miscue by the third baseman, placing Lady Vol runners at the corners.?? The duo pulled off a double steal as Hammond crossed easily for a 1-0 lead.?? Senior third baseman Tonya Callahan walked as Mogan advanced into scoring position at second.?? Senior catcher Shannon Doepking popped out to short and Huff hit into a fielder???s choice, cutting down UT???s lead runner at third for two outs.?? An infield single from Lapicki loaded the base paths, but a strikeout soon ended the frame with no further damage.
Staked to an early advantage, Rhodes set down the Cardinals in order in the bottom of the first, retiring catcher Melissa Roth, first baseman Sarah Totten and third baseman Chelsea Bemis.??
With one out in the top of the second, Posey managed an infield single and took off for second swiping her 44th base of the campaign to equal former Lady Vol All-American India Chiles UT single-season record established in 2007.??
Rhodes walked left fielder Kassie Stanfill to christen the bottom of the second inning, and she advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from shortstop Colby Wherry.?? Right fielder Brittany York was retired on a pop-up by Callahan in foul ground outside of third and designated player Brooke McCrain struck out swinging leaving the U of L base runner stranded in scoring position.
The Big Orange added to their lead in the third as Callahan drew a walk, freshman pinch runner Kelsey Stander swiped second and moved to third as the errant toss traveled into center on the throw attempt to second on the theft.?? A base knock through the right side of the infield from Lapicki brought the runner across improving the Lady Vol advantage to 2-0.
In the bottom of the third the Cardinals strung together three straight singles from center fielder Kristi Cunningham, Roth and Totten.?? With the bases juiced and just one retired, third baseman Chelsea Bemis lifted a long fly down the left field line and into foul territory where junior Danielle Pieroni eased over to make the catch.?? On the play Cunningham tagged up and scored via a sacrifice fly cutting UT???s lead to just 2-1.
With Tennessee clinging to a one-run advantage, Louisville???s Wadwell issued consecutive walks to sophomore second baseman Nicole Kajitani and Callahan to christen an opportunity in the top of the fifth.?? Following a fielder???s choice that cut down the lead runner at third for the first out, Huff drove a double into the left center field gap plating Callahan for a 3-1 lead.?? Lapicki followed immediately by blooping the first pitch she saw into short left field and just out of the reach of Louisville???s diving Stanfill to score UT???s fourth run.?? Webb???s team-high sixth triple of the year traveled just over the top of the first base bag and down into the corner as the advantage climbed to 6-1 in favor of Tennessee.??
Despite two-out singles permitted to the Cardinals in both the fifth and sixth innings, Rhodes managed to keep things under control, maintaining the five-run advantage.
A two-run bomb off the scoreboard with no one out in the top of the seventh from Lapicki pushed the Big Orange advantage to 8-1 as the homer marked the sixth of the season for the Oldwick, N.J., native.
Louisville got nothing going offensively in the last half of the seventh as McCrain, Wadwell and Cunningham were set down one-two-three to eliminate the Cardinals from the Knoxville Regional.????????????
The Orange and White must now defeat Virginia Tech twice on Sunday to advance to next weekend???s NCAA Super Regionals.?? First pitch of the day is slated for 1:30 p.m., with the ???if necessary??? contest scheduled for approximately 4 p.m.??
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Rhodes, Megan (22-10)
L: Kristen Wadwell (19-15)
Batting:
2B: Hammond, Lillian 1 ; Huff, Tiffany 1
3B: Webb, Erinn 1
HR: Lapicki, Jen 1
RBI: Huff, Tiffany 1 ; Lapicki, Jen 4 ; Webb, Erinn 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Hammond, Lillian 1 ; Callahan, Tonya 1 ; Stander, Kelsey 1 ; Doepking, Shannon 1 ; Huff, Tiffany 1 ; Grieve, Kelly 1 ; Lapicki, Jen 1 ; Weissinger, Natalee 1
SB: Hammond, Lillian 1 ; Mogan, Chandra 1 ; Stander, Kelsey 1 ; Posey, Kenora 1
CS: Posey, Kenora 1
Batting:
RBI: Chelsea Bemis 1
SH: Colby Wherry 1
SF: Chelsea Bemis 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kristi Cunningham 1
