Lady Vol Offense Limited To Four Hits In 8-2 Loss At #16 Georgia

Friday, April 8

Athens, Ga.

6:00 PM

University of Tennessee

25-11, 7-5

Georgia

32-7, 6-4

Tennessee

Georgia

Photo by: Forest Jersey/Tennessee Athletics

Lady Vol Offense Limited To Four Hits In 8-2 Loss At #16 Georgia

April 08, 2022 | Softball

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ATHENS, Ga. -- No. 11/12 Tennessee was held to four hits as the Lady Vols dropped the series opener at No. 16/15 Georgia, 8-2, Friday night at Jack Turner Softball Stadium. After UT came from behind to tie the game at 2-2 in the fourth, UGA scored six unanswered to earn the win.

Bulldog ace Madison Kerpics (13-3) went the distance in the circle, striking out five over seven innings with four walks, two earned runs and four hits allowed. Lady Vol senior Ashley Rogers (5-4) was tagged with the loss, going 3.2 frames with two strikeouts and five earned runs.

Kiki Milloy, Lair Beautae, McKenna Gibson and Ivy Davis accounted for UT's four hits on Friday. Beautae and Davis notched RBI singles in the third and fourth, respectively, to represent Tennessee's run tally in the series opener.

Georgia (32-7, 6-4 SEC) struck first in the top of the first, scoring on Jaiden Fields' RBI single to right field. The Bulldogs doubled their lead in the second with Ellie Armistead's inside-the-park home run into the right field corner.

The Lady Vols (25-11, 7-5 SEC) cut into the Bulldog lead with back-to-back hits in the third from its top-two batters. Milloy led the inning off with a single up the middle—extending her SEC-best reached base streak to 29 games—and moved into scoring position with her 22nd stolen base of the year. Beautae stepped into the batter's box and delivered an RBI single to center field, notching her team-leading 15th hit in SEC play this season.

Tennessee tied it up with a run on two hits in the fourth. Gibson got on base with a double off the wall in left center before her pinch runner, Anna Fox, moved to third on a groundout to shortstop. Davis laid a bunt single down the first base line that brought Fox in and knotted the games at two runs apiece.

The Bulldogs scored three runs each in the fourth and sixth innings to run away with the series opener. Tennessee was unable to rally as Kerpics retired nine consecutive Lady Vols to end the game.

UP NEXT: UT looks to even the series Saturday at 2 p.m., and game two of the series is slated to be streamed online via SEC Network+. An audio broadcast will also be available at UTSports.com and can be heard locally in Knoxville on FM 99.1 and AM 990.

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