More than Lady luck

Monica Abbott pitched a no-hitter, setting the NCAA single-season record for strikeouts in the process, and injured senior India Chiles delivered the game-winning hit in the top of the seventh inning in a 2-0 win over Texas A&M (46-13) in front of 6,812.

The No. 1-ranked Lady Vols (60-6) advance to play Arizona (44-12) at 9:30 p.m. (TV: ESPN2). The defending national champions outlasted Baylor 2-1 in nine innings.

Chiles, who got off crutches Saturday after suffering a torn anterior curciate ligament in her right knee May 19, was 0-for-3 heading into her fourth at-bat against Big 12 Freshman of the Year Amanda Scarborough (26-9) with Kenora Posey at third base and one out.

"I was just thinking to myself, you will not strike out,'' said Chiles, who was sitting 2-2 in the count. "She threw me a screwball, and I tried to put a soft slap on it.

"A slogan on this team is 'You never say die.' ''

Chiles' hit looped beyond the grasp of leaping third baseman Jamie Hinshaw and into shallow left field, breaking the scoreless deadlock.

Posey sparked the pivotal inning with a slap-hit gone wonderfully awry - trickling off the end of the bat to take on the effect of a bunt - before stealing second and advancing to third on Lindsay Schutzler's groundout to second.

Posey's stolen base was her second in the game and the Lady Vols' fifth in the game, setting a World Series record.

Shannon Doepking delivered a bases-loaded single later in the inning to score Lillian Hammond, who was pinch-running for Chiles, and make it 2-0 before Scarborough retired the next two batters.

"It was a matter of one team blinking first,'' said Karen Weekly, who along with her husband, Ralph, serves as co-head coach for the Lady Vols.

In the first inning it was a matter of whether or not Abbott could throw a strike.

The Lady Vols dodged disaster when Abbott struggled out of the gate, walking the bases full and being charged with two illegal pitches for taking longer than five seconds to deliver the ball to the plate after addressing the ball.

Texas A&M batters didn't swing until the 13th pitch of the game.

With the Aggies fifth batter of the inning up and facing a 1-1 count after Abbott's second illegal pitch, the Lady Vols had held more conferences on the mound with Abbott (7) than Abbott had strikes thrown (6).

The seventh time was apparently the charm, as Abbott induced Jami Lobpries to bounce back to her for a force at the plate before striking out Alex Reynolds for the third out of the inning.

"I think the first inning I forgot to breathe,'' said Abbott, who fanned 16 for a single-season total of 665 and breaking the previous best of 663 set by Southern Mississippi's Courtney Blades in 2000. "When the team came to the mound they were just telling me they had my back.

"After the inning I was like, OK, the worst possible thing just happened, I walked three batters to load the bases. I needed to settle down and hit my spots.

Abbott's jersey took on a different shade of orange from her teammates', as she was drenched in sweat after the 29-pitch first inning.

From that point on, the Aggies did the sweating. Abbott jumped to 0-2 counts against 11 of the final 20 batters she faced while the Lady Vols applied pressure with 11 hits.

"We had an opportunity early where a hit would have changed the game,'' Texas A&M coach Jo Evans said. "But she (Abbott) shot it down like the great pitcher she is.

"I never thought for a second that would be our last chance to win, that we wouldn't win the game or get a timely hit or be celebrating after the game.''

Injury Update: Weekly said Chiles' knee will be evaluated again this morning before a decision is made on her playing status for tonight's game.

"My understanding is when you tear an ACL, there's often collateral damage: bone bruising and meniscus damage and those things cause the pain, discomfort and swelling,'' Weekly said. "She doesn't have any of that. It is a strange situation, the way she's responded.''

Weekly said it was Chiles' decision to start the game, but that UT would not play her without medical clearance.

"I don't know what's going on with my body; I don't know why it doesn't hurt,'' said Chiles, the SEC Player of the Year and league batting champion. "I just want to tell everyone thank-you for the prayers.''