University of Tennessee Athletics
20 for 20: 11 Days Til Softball Season
January 26, 2015 | Softball
Only 11 days left until the start of the 2015 Tennessee softball season! Today we look back at the 2005 Lady Vols -- the first of Tennessee's six Women's College World Series teams.
Tennessee celebrates its 20th year of softball in 2015. In honor of the program's 20-year anniversary, we will count down the 20 days leading up to 2015 season opener on Feb. 6 against Ohio by reflecting on each Tennessee softball team, starting with the first-ever squad in 1996. We will also count down the days by jersey number, reflecting on the past players who wore that day's countdown number.
The 2005 team made a giant leap in program history. It reached the sport's grandest stage -- the Women's College World Series. Tennessee steam-rolled its way through the NCAA Tournament, going 3-0 in the Knoxville Regional (its first time hosting) and posting two shutout wins over Stanford in the Palo Alto Super Regional to punch its ticket to Oklahoma City. At the World Series, the Lady Vols started strong with a 1-0 win over Arizona but dropped to the loser's bracket with a 3-1 loss to UCLA the next day. Tennessee defeated Alabama, 4-0, to reach the WCWS semifinals, where it would battle No. 1 seed Michigan for a 2-0, 11-inning victory. Tonya Callahan hit a towering solo homer in the 11th inning to help the Lady Vols defeat the Wolverines. Hours after that marathon win, UT's magical run came to an end with a 3-2 loss to the Wolverines.
Tennessee finished 2005 at 67-15, setting the program record for wins. UT's 82 games played, 2,172 at-bats, 678 hits, 0.79 team ERA, 58 complete games thrown, 51 shutouts and 547.0 innings pitched are all program records that stand to this day.
The 2005 roster featured LaDonna Oliver, Brittany Bessho, Sarah Fekete, Stacey Jennings, Katherine Card, Monica Abbott, Kenora Posey, Caitlin Ryan, Megan Rhodes, Shannon Doepking, Ashley Cline, Kortney Bell, India Chiles, Kristi Durant, Natalie Brock, Lindsay Schutzler and Tonya Callahan.
Abbott enjoyed a spectacular sophomore season, setting Tennessee records with a 0.52 ERA, 50 wins, 34 shutouts and 392.0 innings pitched. Tennessee had four All-Americans in 2005 in Abbott, Durant, Fekete and Schutzler. Durant hit .387 with seven homers and tied Bridget Jackson's UT record of 77 RBIs. Schutzler hit .396 with seven homers, 44 RBIs and team highs of 72 runs and 36 stolen bases. Fekete led the team with a .414 batting average and tallied 49 runs and 30 stolen bases. Callahan hit a team-high 11 homers and drove in 46 runs as a freshman.
On the national stage, the 2005 team flexed its muscles, showing that it had the game's best pitcher and the game's best offense.
JERSEY COUNTDOWN - #11
| No. 11 | |||||||||||
| No. | Player | Years | Pos. | GP-GS | Avg. | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | SB |
| 11 | Buffy Walker | 1996-99 | P | 11-6 | .333 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | Nicole Schaeffer | 2001-02 | OF | 86-37 | .118 | 34 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 11 | Shannon Doepking | 2005-08 | C/IF | 266-256 | .277 | 672 | 71 | 186 | 18 | 141 | 1 |
| 11 | Melissa Brown | 2010-13 | IF/OF | 213-154 | .270 | 466 | 67 | 126 | 7 | 87 | 4 |
| 11 | Alley Perkins | 2014 | IF | 31-9 | .185 | 27 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| No. 11 | |||||||||||
| No. | Player | Years | Pos. | ERA | W-L | GS | CG | SH | IP | SO | |
| 11 | Buffy Walker | 1996-99 | P | 1.97 | 54-27 | 87 | 61 | 16 | 536.1 | 316 | |
Looking Back...#11 Buffy Walker
1996-1997 | P | 6-2 | R/R | Carlsbad, N.M.
Walker was a founding Lady Vol and one of Tennessee's first stars in the circle. She compiled a 54-27 record, a 1.97 ERA and 316 strikeouts over her four-year career and earned NFCA First Team All-Region honors and First Team All-SEC accolades in 1997. Walker threw the first no-hitter in Tennessee history, racking up six strikeouts over seven hitless innings in a 2-0 win over Cleveland State on March 24, 1996. Her 1997 season was one for the ages as she led the team with a 21-9 record, a 0.71 ERA, nine shutouts and 143 strikeouts over 208.0 innings. Walker helped lay the foundation for UT's tradition of great pitchers and she still ranks in the top 10 of just about every Tennessee pitching category.
THROWBACK NOTES FROM HER BIO!
- Actual name is Adrienne Lisette Walker. Nicknamed "Buffy" because when her mother was pregnant with her, the Walker family received several phone calls at home for someone asking if "Buffy" was there and calls stopped after she was born.
- Her uncle is long-time NFL executive John Wooten (Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens).
- Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan are her favorite athletes.
#11 Shannon Doepking
2005-08 | C/IF | 5-7 | R/R | Acton, Calif.
Doepking is one of UT's most-heralded catchers and served as Monica Abbott's backstop from 2005-07. Doepking had a rifle for an arm, throwing out 42 baserunners in her UT career. She packed a punch at the plate as well, totaling 18 homers, 36 doubles, three triples and 141 RBIs while batting .277. She was an immediate impact player, starting 70 games as a freshman and batting .274 with seven homers, 10 doubles and 42 RBIs. Doepking threw out 16 baserunners on 37 stolen base attempts as a rookie and was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. In 2007, she hit .278 with six homers, eight doubles, two triples and 28 RBIs to earn First-Team All-SEC and Second-Team NFCA All-South Region honors. Her best offensive year was her 2008 senior season when she batted .315 with four homers 13 doubles, 47 RBIs and 20 runs. Doepking was drafted by the NPF's Akron Racers in 2008 and would later join the Chicago Bandits, reuniting the legendary Abbott-Doepking pitcher-catcher combo.
THROWBACK NOTES FROM HER BIO!
- Likes snowboarding, wakeboarding, watching movies and hanging out with friends
- Modeled her game after U.S. Olympic gold medal catcher Jenny Topping
- Superstition is refusing to step on the lines before the game
#11 Melissa Brown
2010-13 | IF/OF | 5-4 | L/R | Valencia, Calif.
Brown was one of the most versatile players to ever wear a Tennessee uniform. She saw action around the infield and outfield and always brought a sure glove to any position the played. Brown's best season came as a junior in 2012 when she hit .275 with five homers, 11 doubles, 33 RBIs, 24 runs and 13 walks and registered 11 multi-hit games. As a senior, she drove in a career-high 38 runs and had 10 multi-hit games. She tied her career high with three hits and knocked an RBI double up the middle in her final at-bat at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium as UT beat Alabama to advance to the 2013 WCWS. At the World Series, she had a key two-RBI double in UT's Game 2 win over Florida. Brown also excelled in the classroom, earning First-Team Capital One Academic All-District III honors in 2012 and NFCA Scholar-Athlete honors in 2010. Brown continues to play an important role in the program as one of Tennessee's team managers, a role she a worked in since 2014.
NOTES FROM HER BIO!
- Twin brother is former UCLA baseball player and 2012 MLB Draft pick Trevor Brown
- Modeled game after former U.S. National Team shortstop Natasha Watley
