SOFTBALL CENTRAL: No. 20 Lady Vols at Buccaneer Classic

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Due to the weather forecast on Friday in Johnson City, Tenn., the Buccaneer Classic tournament has been pushed back to Feb. 29-March 2.

After picking up its 100th consecutive win over an in-state opponent against UT Martin on Tuesday, No. 20 Tennessee will travel the short distance for a five-game weekend at ETSU.

The Lady Vols (8-6) face Bowling Green on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET and Sunday at noon. UT will also take on in-state rivals Tennessee Tech on Saturday at 5 p.m. and Monday at noon to close the weekend. The Lady Vols will open Sunday against host-team ETSU on at 2:30 p.m.

Broadcast Info
Brian Rice will call all of the action during the weekend on UTSports.com. Sunday's game versus the Bucs will be streamed on the SoCon Digital Network.

Quick Hits
Seggern Takes 'Em for the Team
Senior Chelsea Seggern quickly jumped into another top-10 category early in the season, albeit a painful one. Recording eight hit-by-pitches so far, Seggern ranks seventh all-time in UT history after being pegged at the plate 27 times since she joined the Lady Vols family in 2017. The Thrall, Texas, native ties for fourth in the nation in HBP per game (0.57). Seggern is also tied for eighth in the SEC with four home runs.

Weeklys' In-State Wins Near 100
Currently 94-0 against opponents from Tennessee under co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly, the Orange and White inch closer to the century-mark milestone in the program's 25th year. The Lady Vols' 3-2 win against UT Martin in the home opener was the 100^th-consecutive win over an in-state for the program. Tennessee has at least seven additional outings against in-state opponents this season.

Double Down
Tennessee has recorded 12 double plays so far this season, with a single-game season high three against USF on Feb. 22 that ties for a program record. The achievement has only occurred on three occasions, the last time coming at Virginia Tech in 2015. The only other time a UT team had three double plays was in 1998 versus Kansas. The Lady Vols' 0.86 double plays per game leads the SEC and ranks second in the nation.

Freshmen's First Dingers
Kiki Milloy and KK McCrary have stood out for their impressive play at the plate in the early 2020 season. Milloy who was the lead off hitter in the 2020 lid-lifter, was the first freshman to go yard in their first collegiate at-bat for the Lady Vols since at least 2012, while McCrary was the first of the eight freshmen to go yard at Sherri Parker Lee. McCrary blasted a 2-run homer through centerfield against UT Martin on Feb. 25 to become the first freshman to record a dinger in a home opener since Meghan Gregg hit two against Northern Iowa on March 6, 2015.

Hail Tennessee
Nearly half of the Lady Vols squad is made up of in-state talent. There are nine Tennessee natives on the 2020 roster, believed to be a record for the program. Seniors Treasuary Poindexter (Covington, Tenn.) and Cailin Hannon (Franklin, Tenn.) and sophomores Kaili Phillips (Ooltewah, Tenn.) and Ashley Rogers (Athens, Tenn.) are joined by freshmen Anna Fox (Columbia, Tenn.), KK McCrary (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), Josie Willingham (Medon, Tenn.), Anna Hazlewood (Martin, Tenn.) and Madison Webber (Sevierville, Tenn.).

25th Anniversary
On Feb. 23, 1996, Tennessee fielded its first softball team at the 10th Annual Louisiana Classics in Lafayette, La. A 1-0 loss to Baylor, a program that had been around since 1979, marked the beginning of what would become one of the Vols and Lady Vols premier athletic programs. The Lady Vols bounced back the following day to pick up the program's first win, a 5-4 victory over the Bears and eventually took the series in a rubber match on Feb. 25, a 9-8, eight-inning victory. Fast forward to 2020 and 1,124 wins later, the Orange and White opens the programs 25th year in extant as the season commences on Feb. 8 in Tempe, Ariz., against Northwestern.

All-American Homecoming
In late January, Tennessee announced that it would host the U.S. Women's National Team as part of Team USA's "Stand Beside Her" Tour – a nationwide tour where the Red, White and Blue will face top Division I collegiate teams in preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. On April 8, the Lady Vols face off against the WNT at Sherri Parker Lee and will welcome back Tennessee great Monica Abbott, a four-time All-American (2004-07), three-time SEC Pitcher of the Year (2004, 05, 07), USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year trophy winner and NCAA/UT program record holder. Tickets for the event are currently sold out, but the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Scouting Report
Bowling Green
2020 record: 6-3, 0-0 MAC
Series record: 1-0
Last outing: A ninth-ranked Tennessee downed Bowling Green 18-0 in five innings in Knoxville on Feb 27, 2009.
Key player/stat: Freshman pitcher Payton Gottshall was named Mid-American Conference Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 25 after going 4-0 at the Tiger Classic in Nashville with a 0.71 ERA. Overall Gottshall holds a 6-2 win-loss record in the circle and a 1.65 ERA. The Falcons have limited opponents to a .196 hitting clip, while batting .268 as a team. They've outhit opponents 64-42.

Tennessee Tech
2020 record: 8-6, 0-0 OVC
Series record: 21-0
Last outing: No. 15 Tennessee run-ruled the Golden Eagles 10-0 in six innings in Statesboro, Ga., on Feb. 10, 2016.
Key player/stat: Tennessee Tech is on a two-game losing streak, but are only being outhit by opponents 108-104. The Golden Eagles have allowed their opponents to average a .304 hitting average, while combining for a .280 average at the plate. Raleigh Lewis leads the offense with a .381 hitting clip and has accounted for a team high 13 RBI, while co-leading with five home runs and 16 hits.

ETSU
2020 record: 4-10, 0-0 SoCon
Series record: 19-0
Last outing: The No. 8 Lady Vols recorded its sixth-consecutive run-rule in the series with the Golden Eagles in a 11-0, five-inning win on April 16 last season in Johnson City.
Key player/stat: Senior Kelly Schmidt was tabbed the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week after throwing a near no-hitter in a shutout win against Rhode Island. Offensively, Kelly Warren leads with a .440 batting average and 22 hits and has stolen six bases on eight attempts, while Julia Fritz (.304) has found the plate 12 times and added 14 hits of her own.

SOFTBALL CENTRAL: No. 20 Lady Vols at Buccaneer Classic

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Players Mentioned

Anna Fox

Meghan Gregg

Cailin Hannon

Anna Hazlewood

KK McCrary

Kiki Milloy

Kaili Phillips

Treasuary Poindexter

Ashley Rogers

Chelsea Seggern

Madison Webber

Josie Willingham

University of Tennessee Athletics