Lady Vols start well in NCAAs

Tennessee's Megan Rhodes said a technical adjustment in her pitching windup led to a mental adjustment Friday afternoon.

Rhodes wouldn't elaborate, but whatever and however things transpired for the Lady Vols' senior, it led to a 3-0 win over Winthrop in NCAA Regional action at Lee Stadium.

The 13th-ranked Lady Vols (48-14) play 16th-ranked Virginia Tech (45-15) at noon today in an ESPN2-televised game. The loser plays again at 5 p.m. against the winner of today's 2:30 elimination game between Winthrop (36-18) and Louisville (30-22).

Senior Shannon Doepking delivered the big hit for Tennessee against the Lady Eagles Friday, blasting a two-run homer after SEC player of the year Tonya Callahan was intentionally walked by Winthrop starter Cari Woolridge (16-10) to lead off the sixth.

But without Rhodes' gritty effort against the Big South champions, Doepking's shot would have likely been moot. Rhodes pitched 4 2/3 innings of no-hit relief, fanning 10 while walking three to run her record to 21-9.

Freshman Ashton Ward started the game for UT but was pulled in the third inning after giving up a single, two wild pitches and a walk, leaving Rhodes with runners on first and third with one out.

"Ashton is 27-5 and has won some big games, but we had to make a tough decision and bring Megan in,'' said Ralph Weekly, who along with his wife, Karen, serves as co-head coach for the Lady Vols. 'It was either that, or we were gonna get blown out early.''

Rhodes fanned the first batter she faced to get the second out before inducing Winthrop's Stephanie Reid into a groundout to end the threat in the third.

Rhodes, who struggled with her control late in the season, found her stride against the Lady Eagles, striking out the side in the fourth and fifth innings before running into trouble with the game tied 0-0 in the sixth.

A two-out walk and a stolen base led Weekly to intentionally walk Mallory Hogan, Winthrop's top RBI hitter. Another walk — after a 3-2 count — loaded the bases.

But again, Rhodes responded under pressure, fanning Lenny Stoddart on three pitches to escape the jam.

"When the bases were loaded and we didn't get a run, we lost the momentum,'' Winthrop coach Mark Cooke said. 'We came off the field feeling flat and frustrated and they came off the field pumped up.''

Cooke said he intentionally walked Callahan in the bottom of the sixth after seeing her narrowly miss a home run with a shot off the top of the wall in the fourth.

"We made a decision she wasn't going to beat us, and she didn't,'' Cooke said. 'It was a bad pitch selection (to Doepking), a hung pitch, and we'll learn from that.''

Cooke said he knew of Rhodes' struggles earlier this season, but he also knew she was capable.

'Megan had the rise ball moving and she established the change up and froze us in the zone,'' he said. 'Megan did a great job.''

Good enough to satisfy Weekly, and good enough to lift her team in the postseason.

"I told Megan, ‘You exorcised some demons today,' ' he said. 'Megan is a great pitcher. There are no ifs, ands or buts about that.''

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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