University of Tennessee Athletics
Wednesday, March 2
Knoxville, Tenn.
5:00 PM
University of Tennessee
10-6
11
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Tennessee Tech
9-6
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5
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H
E
Tennessee Tech
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Tennessee
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11
9
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#17 Lady Vols Power Past Golden Eagles, 11-1, In Five
March 02, 2022 | Softball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Using the long-ball, the 17th-ranked Tennessee softball team won its home-opener, 11-1, over Tennessee Tech Wednesday night at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
The Lady Vols (10-6) continued to power the ball out of the yard, mashing four home runs accounting for eight runs. The four bombs were the most UT has hit in a game this season. Entering today, the Lady Vols were tied for 23rd in the nation in homers per game (1.27).
Senior outfielder Amanda Ayala had her best game of the season in a stellar outing at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a single, triple and a home run to finish one double shy of the cycle. She added five RBIs, which tied a career high, and scored a run.
Junior utility Amanda Curran smoked the first home run of her career with a walk-off blast in the fifth. Entering the game with five career RBIs, she drove in three with one swing of the bat Wednesday night to secure UT's fourth run-rule victory of the season.
Graduate pitcher Erin Edmoundson continued her strong start to the season, throwing five innings of scoreless softball while only allowing one hit. She struck out four batters and pushed her season total to 42 Ks in 10 appearances.
After a quiet first inning, the Golden Eagles threatened in the top of the second, putting a runner in scoring position with one out. Edmoundson buckled down, getting a flyout and a strikeout to send the Big Orange to the plate, and UT went on to capitalize in a big way.
Sophomore Rylie West stepped in the box in the bottom of the second for Tennessee, got a 2-2 fastball, belt high, and did not miss. She mashed the pitch way over the fence in left field to jumpstart the Tennessee offense. Super senior shortstop Ivy Davis got on after a fielder's choice and made a great baserunning play to advance to second on a foul-out behind home plate. The aggressive running panned out as Anna Fox laced a single through the right side to bring Davis around to score.
A few batters later, with runners on second and third, Ayala looked out to the circle on a 3-2 count and smashed an opposite-field 3-run homer high off the light pole in left center. The Lady Vols led 5-0 after two innings.
Tennessee Tech got on the board in the top of the fourth, loading the bases with no outs when Edmoundson re-entered for UT. She got a pair of strikeouts in relief, only allowing one run to score on a wild pitch.
The Lady Vols immediately answered back in the bottom half as Amanda Ayala ripped a liner off the wall in left for her second triple of the season, scoring fellow outfielders Kaitlin Parsons and Kiki Malloy. Tennessee led 7-1 after four full innings of play.
After a scoreless top half, UT finished in style, scoring four runs in four plate appearances in the bottom of the 5th. The Lady Vols only needed two runs to reach the run rule, and Zaida Puni got them half way there, leading off the inning as she rocketed an 0-1 pitch over the bleachers in right.
West followed suit with a double to right, setting up the winning run on second base with no outs. After Madison Webber was hit by a pitch, Curran was called to pinch hit to put the game away, and she did just that.
Curran smashed a 1-1 pitch off the scoreboard in left center, scoring all three runs and sending the Lady Vols home as winners in their home opener.
UP NEXT: Tennessee gears up for the Tennessee Invitational where it faces Dartmouth at 3 p.m. on Friday, followed by Virginia at 5:30 p.m. later that day. Both games will be streamed online via SEC Network+.
For the most up-to-date information on Tennessee softball, follow @Vol_Softball on Twitter and Instagram.
The Lady Vols (10-6) continued to power the ball out of the yard, mashing four home runs accounting for eight runs. The four bombs were the most UT has hit in a game this season. Entering today, the Lady Vols were tied for 23rd in the nation in homers per game (1.27).
Senior outfielder Amanda Ayala had her best game of the season in a stellar outing at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a single, triple and a home run to finish one double shy of the cycle. She added five RBIs, which tied a career high, and scored a run.
Junior utility Amanda Curran smoked the first home run of her career with a walk-off blast in the fifth. Entering the game with five career RBIs, she drove in three with one swing of the bat Wednesday night to secure UT's fourth run-rule victory of the season.
Graduate pitcher Erin Edmoundson continued her strong start to the season, throwing five innings of scoreless softball while only allowing one hit. She struck out four batters and pushed her season total to 42 Ks in 10 appearances.
After a quiet first inning, the Golden Eagles threatened in the top of the second, putting a runner in scoring position with one out. Edmoundson buckled down, getting a flyout and a strikeout to send the Big Orange to the plate, and UT went on to capitalize in a big way.
Sophomore Rylie West stepped in the box in the bottom of the second for Tennessee, got a 2-2 fastball, belt high, and did not miss. She mashed the pitch way over the fence in left field to jumpstart the Tennessee offense. Super senior shortstop Ivy Davis got on after a fielder's choice and made a great baserunning play to advance to second on a foul-out behind home plate. The aggressive running panned out as Anna Fox laced a single through the right side to bring Davis around to score.
A few batters later, with runners on second and third, Ayala looked out to the circle on a 3-2 count and smashed an opposite-field 3-run homer high off the light pole in left center. The Lady Vols led 5-0 after two innings.
Tennessee Tech got on the board in the top of the fourth, loading the bases with no outs when Edmoundson re-entered for UT. She got a pair of strikeouts in relief, only allowing one run to score on a wild pitch.
The Lady Vols immediately answered back in the bottom half as Amanda Ayala ripped a liner off the wall in left for her second triple of the season, scoring fellow outfielders Kaitlin Parsons and Kiki Malloy. Tennessee led 7-1 after four full innings of play.
After a scoreless top half, UT finished in style, scoring four runs in four plate appearances in the bottom of the 5th. The Lady Vols only needed two runs to reach the run rule, and Zaida Puni got them half way there, leading off the inning as she rocketed an 0-1 pitch over the bleachers in right.
West followed suit with a double to right, setting up the winning run on second base with no outs. After Madison Webber was hit by a pitch, Curran was called to pinch hit to put the game away, and she did just that.
Curran smashed a 1-1 pitch off the scoreboard in left center, scoring all three runs and sending the Lady Vols home as winners in their home opener.
UP NEXT: Tennessee gears up for the Tennessee Invitational where it faces Dartmouth at 3 p.m. on Friday, followed by Virginia at 5:30 p.m. later that day. Both games will be streamed online via SEC Network+.
For the most up-to-date information on Tennessee softball, follow @Vol_Softball on Twitter and Instagram.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Edmoundson, Erin (6-1)
L: ARDEN,Alyssa (4-4)
Base Running:
RUNS: BETTS,Carmen 1
HBP: BETTS,Carmen 1 ; DUKES,Sydney 1
Batting:
2B: West, Rylie 1
3B: Ayala, Amanda 1
HR: Ayala, Amanda 1 ; Puni, Zaida 1 ; West, Rylie 1 ; Curran, Amanda 1
RBI: Ayala, Amanda 5 ; Puni, Zaida 1 ; West, Rylie 1 ; Curran, Amanda 3 ; Fox, Anna 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Milloy, Kiki 2 ; Ayala, Amanda 1 ; Puni, Zaida 1 ; West, Rylie 2 ; Webber, Madison 1 ; Davis, Ivy 1 ; Curran, Amanda 1 ; Parsons, Kaitlin 1 ; Fox, Anna 1
SB: Milloy, Kiki 2 ; Parsons, Kaitlin 1
HBP: Milloy, Kiki 1 ; Morgan, Ashley 1 ; Webber, Madison 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
3
RBI
5
rf/c
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
1
R
1
H
1
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
OF
/ SoftballUT
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballC/OF
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