University of Tennessee Athletics
2015 Knoxville Regional Preview
May 12, 2015 | Softball
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Time | Links/Results |
| Fri. May 15 | Game 1: Virginia Tech vs. Utah (H) | 3:30 p.m. ET |  ESPN3 | Gametracker |
| Fri. May 15 | Game 2: Longwood vs. Tennessee (H) | 6 p.m. ET | ESPN3 | Gametracker | Live Audio |
| Sat. May 16 | Game 3: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner | 1 p.m. ET | ESPN3 | Gametracker |
| Sat. May 16 | Game 4: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser | 3:30 p.m. ET | ESPN3 | Gametracker |
| Sat. May 16 | Game 5: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Winner | 6 p.m. ET | ESPN3 | Gametracker |
| Sun. May 17 | Game 6: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner | 3:30 p.m. ET | ESPN3 | Gametracker |
| Sun. May 17 | Game 7: If Necessary | 6 p.m. ET | ESPN3 | Gametracker |
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee will host 2015 Knoxville Regional from May 15-17 at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. All Knoxville Regional games will feature ESPN3 online video broadcasts.
All seven games (seventh game is an if-necessary game) of the Knoxville Regional can be viewed online via ESPN3 (WatchESPN.com) or the WatchESPN app. Sam Gore will be the play-by-play announcer and Amanda Freed will provide analysis for each game. Fans can listen to Tennessee's games live on WNML 990 AM or UTSports.com with Brian Rice on the call.
The Knoxville Regional will be a double-elimination tournament featuring Tennessee (42-14, 15-9 SEC), Longwood (33-23, 19-4 Big South), Virginia Tech (34-21, 9-14 ACC) and Utah (34-17, 12-11 Pac 12). Utah (home team) will take on Virginia Tech at 3:30 p.m. Tennessee (home team) will play Longwood on Friday at 6 p.m. ET.
On Saturday, the winners from both of Friday's games will play in Game 3 at 1 p.m. The losers from Friday's games will play in Game 4 at 3:30 p.m. The loser from Game 3 will face the winner from Game 4 at 6 p.m.
Sunday's 3:30 p.m. Game 6 will feature the winner from Game 3 against the winner from Game 5. The two teams will play again in Game 7 at 6 p.m., if necessary.
The Lady Vols are 2-0 all-time against Longwood and last faced the Lancers in the 2013 Knoxville Regional, winning Game 2, 9-0 (5). UT is 1-2 all-time against Utah and played the Utes earlier this season, suffering a 4-3 loss on Feb. 21 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif. Tennessee is 11-7 all-time against Virginia Tech, including a 13-4 (6) win over the Hokies on April 15 in Blacksburg, Va.
Tennessee is coming off of an impressive run in the 2015 SEC Tournament. UT defeated Kentucky in the first round, 5-4, with a walk-off. The Big Orange rallied late to upset No. 4 seed and host LSU, 7-5, in the quarterfinals and Erin Gabriel shut down top-seeded Florida, 2-1, in the semifinals. In the conference tournament title game, Auburn mounted a late rally to defeat the Lady Vols, 6-5, in nine frames. Gabriel, Meghan Gregg and Megan Geer were named to the SEC All-Tournament Team.
UT's 97 home runs on the year smashed the previous program record of 81 set in 2014. For the first time in team history, Tennessee has five players with double-digit home runs in Taylor Koenig (17), Annie Aldrete (15), Megan Geer (13), Meghan Gregg (12) and Scarlet McSwain (10). Aldrete is the first Tennessee player to have two 15-home run seasons in a career and her 34 career blasts ranks fifth in team history.
Tennessee is currently ranked No. 9 in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and No. 10 in the latest USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll.
Available all-session bleacher-back ticket packages can be purchased online at UTTIX.com, over the phone at 865-656-1200 or in-person at the Tennessee ticket office. The bleacher-back all-session package is $25 and includes tickets for all three days of the Knoxville Regional.
Should the initial ticket availability sell-out, any tickets not renewed by season ticket holders would open on Thursday, May 14, at 8:30 a.m. ET. If tickets remain, single-session tickets will go on sale Friday, May 15, at 8:30 a.m. ET online, over the phone and in-person.
***FRIDAY TRAFFIC ADVISORY: The Rev3 Glow Run is Friday, May 15, and starts at 8:30 p.m. on Neyland Drive by the C-15 parking lot. The race runs in the eastbound lanes of Neyland Drive. Teams and fans leaving Friday's game may be forced to exit west on Neyland Drive from Joan Cronan Way (formerly Leinard Lane).
***SUNDAY TRAFFIC ADVISORY: The Rev3 Triathlon is Sunday, May 17. There will be complete closure of Neyland Drive between Walnut St. and Lake Loudoun Blvd. from 5 a.m. until 2 p.m. when both eastbound lanes and one westbound lane will re-open. The only access to Joan Cronan Way (formerly Leinard Lane) will be Neyland Drive eastbound from Alcoa Highway or Kingston Pike or coming through campus and down Lake Loudoun before turning west on Neyland Drive.
- This is Tennessee's 13 NCAA Tournament berth and 11th time hosting an NCAA Regional.
- Tennessee is the No. 8 national seed, marking the program's fifth time as a top-eight seed (No. 8 in 2006, No. 6 in 2007, No. 7 in 2012, No. 7 in 2013).
- UT is 42-14 on the year and went 15-9 in SEC games.
- UT is a combined 14-9 against the other teams in the Knoxville Regional. UT is 2-0 against Longwood, 1-2 against Utah and 11-7 against Virginia Tech.
- Tennessee tied for fourth in the SEC regular-season standings and finished as the runner-up in the 2015 SEC Tournament at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge, La.
- Tennessee is hitting .311 as a team with Annie Aldrete (.336), Meghan Gregg (.331) and Tory Lewis (.328) leading the way.
- The Lady Vols have hit a program-record 97 home runs this season, which ranks seventh in the nation. For the first time in team history, UT has five players with double-digit home runs: Taylor Koenig (17), Annie Aldrete (15), Megan Geer (13), Meghan Gregg (12) and Scarlet McSwain (10).
- Tennessee's pitchers have combined for a 3.07 ERA and opposing teams are hitting .231 against them. Erin Gabriel is 15-6 with a 2.86 ERA. Rainey Gaffin is 14-3 with a 2.45 ERA, Gretchen Aucoin is 9-2 with a 3.63 ERA and Cheyanne Tarango is 9-3 with a 3.91 ERA.
- Gabriel is enjoying the best season of her career. She threw a 16-strikeout, seven-inning no-hitter against Illinois State on March 10 and tossed a five-strikeouts, five-inning perfect game against ETSU on March 24. She became the fourth Tennessee pitcher to throw two no-hitters in the same season, joining greats Monica Abbott (four in 2004, six in 2005, six in 2006, seven in 2007), Megan Rhodes (two in 2005) and Ivy Renfroe (two in 2011, two in 2012).
- Annie Aldrete earned All-SEC honors for the second-straight year, Meghan Gregg and Scarlet McSwain were named to the Freshman All-SEC team and Rainey Gaffin picked up SEC All-Defensive accolades.
TENNESSEE
- The Lancers earned their second NCAA berth in three seasons Sunday after winning the 2015 Big South Championship Sunday. It marks the second Longwood team to earn a bid into the NCAA Tournament in the Division I era, following the 2013 squad that finished the season with a school-record 41 victories.
- Longwood is 33-23 and went 19-4 in the Big South.
- The Lancers won the 2015 Big South Championship by defeating Presbyterian, 4-0, in the title game.
- Longwood is hitting .285 as a team with Megan Baltzell (.422), Carly Adams (.319) and Justina Augustine (.311) leading the way.
- Baltzell is hitting .422 with team highs of 27 home runs and 72 RBIs. Her 27 homers rank second in the nation. Emily Murphy ranks second on the squad with 17 homers and 41 RBIs.
- Longwood's pitchers have combined for a 3.97 ERA and opposing teams are hitting .265 against them. Ace Elizabeth McCarthy is 22-12 on the year with a 3.40 ERA and 196 strikeouts over 206.0 frames. Libby Morris is 9-7 with a 4.21 ERA and 63 strikeouts.
- Baltzell was named Big South Player of the Year, Elizabeth McCarthy took home Big South Pitcher of the Year and head coach Kathy Riley was named Big South Coach of the Year.
LONGWOOD
- Utah is 3-0 this season against teams in the Knoxville Regional. The Utes defeated, at the time, the No. 10-ranked UT, 4-3 at the Mary Nutter Classic in Palm Springs, Calif. A few weeks later Utah posted back-to-back wins against Longwood at the Hawaii Spring Fling, defeating the Lancers 10-1 and 3-2.
- Utah will be making its first NCAA Regional appearance since 2006 and 13th overall appearance in a Regional Tournament. Sunday's selection marks the 19th postseason appearance for the Utes all-time, which includes appearances in both AIAW (1976-77-79-80-81-82) and NCAA (1984-85-87-91-92-94-95-97-2000-02-04-06-15) Tournaments.
- Utah went 34-17 and 12-11 in the Pac 12. The Utes finished tied for fourth in the Pac 12.
- The Utes are hitting .292 as a team with Kate Dickman (.448), Hannah Flippen (.373) and Bridget Castro (.283) leading the way. Dickman's 20 doubles, nine homers and 12 stolen bass lead the team. Castro's 40 RBIs are a team high.
- Utah's pitchers have combined for a 2.74 ERA and opponents are hitting .252 against them. Katie Donovan is 16-8 with a 2.58 ERA and 141 strikeouts over 176.2 innings. Miranda Viramontes is 11-6 with a 3.06 ERA and 77 strikeouts over 114.1 frames.
UTAH
- This will be Tech's eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and fourth in a row. Five of the previous seven appearances were in Knoxville, Tennessee, while the others were in Columbus, Ohio (2007) and Lexington, Kentucky (2013).
- Virginia Tech is 34-21 and went 13-8 in ACC play to finish fifth in the conference.
- The Hokies are hitting .271 on the season with Breanna Davenport (.338), Kylie McGoldrick (.333) and Lauren Gaskill (.313) leading the way.
- Kelsey Mericka (.272 BA, 16 HRs, 43 RBIs) and Michelle Prong (.277 BA, 10 HRs, 24 RBIs) are two of the team's top power threats. Davenport and McGoldrick have 12 doubles each.
- Virginia Tech's pitchers have combined for a 2.90 ERA and opponents are hitting .230 against them. Maggie Tyler is 15-12 with a 3.20 ERA and 211 strikeouts over 177.1 frames. Kelly Heinz is 12-6 with a 2.47 ERA and 119 strikeouts over 110.2 innings.
- McGoldrick earned All-ACC Second Team honors.
VIRGINIA TECH
