University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
No. 19/20 James Madison
Vols Downed by JMU, 9-0
February 19, 2016 | Softball
Box Score | Geathers Postgame |
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- No. 12/14 Tennessee fell behind early and was never able to get anything going against No. 19/20 James Madison's ace Jailyn Ford in a 9-0 loss on Friday afternoon in the opening game of the Michele Smith Pediatric Cancer Foundation Invitational.
Ford had eight strikeouts for the Dukes while Rainey Gaffin and Lexi Overstreet had the only hits for the Big Orange on the afternoon.
The Vols dug themselves an early hole, falling behind 3-0 in the top of the first inning after allowing two hits and committing an error.
UT's best chance to score came in the bottom of the first after Megan Geer drew a 2-out walk to load the bases, but Ford struck out Gretchen Aucoin to end the threat.
More defensive lapses hurt the Vols in the second as the Dukes added two more runs on a single to right field after a dropped pop up that would have ended the inning.
JMU added another run in the third and extended its lead to 9-0 with a 3-run homer by Taylor Newton in the top of the fourth.
Tennessee was unable to score in the bottom of the fifth to extend the game and fell to 4-3 on the season. Gaffin was stuck with the loss, falling to 1-1 on the year.
The Vols will look to bounce back against Oklahoma State to wrap up today's doubleheader at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Fla.
