University of Tennessee Athletics
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Mississippi State
Beautae’s Two Hits, Two Runs Not Enough as #11 Tennessee falls to Mississippi State
April 02, 2022 | Softball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 11th-ranked Lady Vols struggled to get the offense going as they tallied just five hits on Saturday and dropped game two of their three-game series to Mississippi State, 8-3, at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
Freshman left fielder Lair Beautae picked up two of the Lady Vols' five hits, while senior first baseman Ashley Morgan, sophomore right fielder Rylie West and sophomore third baseman Zaida Puni came through with the other three.
Tennessee (24-10, 6-4 SEC) manufactured two of its three runs in the first inning, thanks to RBIs by Beautae and West. Puni drove in UT's third run of the game with an RBI single through the middle of the infield.
Senior pitcher Erin Edmoundson suffered her fourth loss of the season, tossing three innings and tallying three strikeouts with eight hits and six runs allowed.
The Lady Vols' relief pitching was staffed by freshman Nicola Simpson, senior Samantha Bender and sophomore Ryleigh White. The three pitchers combined to throw four innings and allowed two runs.
Mississippi State (24-10, 5-3 SEC) struck right away in the first inning with a two-run homerun off the bat of Chloe Malau'ulu to take an early 2-0 lead.
Tennessee hit back in the bottom of the first when junior center fielder Kiki Milloy was hit by a pitch, stole second base and then reached third on a throwing error. Beautae drove Milloy home with an infield single.
Still in the bottom of the first, the Lady Vols tied the game at 2-2 when West knocked a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Beautae from third.
Mississippi State struck again in the third inning with a solo shot by Mia Davidson, followed by a three-run homerun from Jackie McKenna to take a 6-2 lead.
The Bulldogs extended their lead with two runs in the fourth off an RBI double by Malau'ulu and an RBI single by Paige Cook to push their lead to 8-2.
Tennessee got a run back in the seventh off an RBI single from Puni, but ultimately the comeback effort fell short as the Lady Vols stranded two runners on base.
NOTABLE: In the bottom of the seventh, Ashley Morgan was hit by a pitch for the 41st time in her career, which breaks the career hit-by-pitch record for a Lady Vol. LVFL Chelsea Seggern (2017-21) previously held the program record.
UP NEXT: The Lady Vols and the Bulldogs will conclude their three-game series Sunday at noon on SEC Network.
For the most up-to-date information on Tennessee softball, follow @Vol_Softball on Twitter and Instagram.
