University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
No. 10/10 Georgia
Tennessee Stifles #10 Georgia to Secure Series Win
April 17, 2016 | Softball
Box Score | Highlights | Postgame Media |
ATHENS, Ga. -- No. 15 Tennessee secured its first SEC road series win with a 4-1 victory over No. 10 Georgia on Sunday night in Athens.
Megan Geer continued her stellar weekend by playing a part in all four of the Volunteers' runs, driving in three and scoring the final run of the evening. The junior from Los Alamitos, Calif., also hit a three-run homer for the second straight game to help lead the Big Orange to their ninth straight win over Georgia.
Erin Gabriel had a solid outing in the circle, holding the high-powered Bulldogs' offense to just a single run in five innings of work en route to earning her 15th win of the year.
After leaving runners stranded in the first two innings, the Vols finally broke through in the top of the third. Following her four-RBI performance in Saturday's win, Geer picked up right where she left off with her second three-run homer in as many games to put the UT up 3-0. Brooke Vines and Meghan Gregg led off the inning with back-to-back singles to put two runners on for Geer, who hammered a 2-2 pitch over the wall in left field for her seventh long ball of the season.
The Bulldogs (35-10, 9-5 SEC) got on the board with a run in the bottom of the third inning after getting runners on second and third with only one out. A sacrifice fly by Maeve McGuire allowed Samantha LaZear to tag and score from third to cut the lead to 3-1.
Tennessee (33-10, 12-5 SEC) used some small ball to add an insurance run in the top of the fifth. Geer led off the inning with a single to right field and stole her 23rd base of the season to move into scoring position. Lexi Overstreet moved Geer to third with a groundout and Rainey Gaffin drove her home after reaching base on an error by Alex Hugo, putting the Vols up 4-1.
Georgia threatened to cut into the lead again in the fifth but Gabriel struck out Tina Iosefa looking on a full count to strand a runner on third base and preserve the three-run lead. UT escaped another jam in the sixth inning after the Bulldogs had runners on second and third with only one out. Gaffin struck out LaZear to thwart the threat after entering the game in relief of Gabriel.
Gaffin pitched the final two innings and had two strikeouts to close the door and earn her fifth save of the season. Brittany Gray took the loss for Georgia after allowing eight hits and four earned runs in a complete-game performance. Sydni Emanuel led the Dawgs offensively with a pair of singles.
The Vols go for their second straight series sweep and fourth overall in the series finale tomorrow at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the SEC Network as the SEC Game of the Week and fans can also listen to the game live on WNML AM 990.
