Lady Vols split with Mississippi State

Tennessee senior softball pitcher Danielle Pieroni wasn’t about to roll over after Mississippi State’s Bulldogs took a bite out of Cat Hosfield in the opener of Saturday’s doubleheader.

The No. 9-ranked Lady Vols rallied behind Pieroni for an 8-0 five-inning victory in the second game after Mississippi State blasted Hosfield for nine hits in a 5-4 win at Lee Stadium.

Jessica Spigner hit her school freshman record 13th home run before a crowd of 706 as UT (26-7, 4-4 SEC) took a 2-0 lead. Tiffany Huff delivered a three-run double amidst a five-run fourth inning, and Nicole Kajitani’s RBI double in the fifth brought the mercy rule into effect against the Bulldogs (16-16, 1-10).

As it turned out, Spigner’s homer was enough for Pieroni (5-1) to get her first complete-game win in eight career starts.

“I’ve waited three years to pitch this much,’’ said Pieroni. “I didn’t pitch as well as I wanted, but I know I have an amazing defense behind me.’’

Hosfield (18-6) entered with all the hype. She was the national player of the year at Murfreesboro’s Riverdale High School last season and set the national high school record with 659 strikeouts as a junior.

But as Pieroni learned earlier in her career, SEC softball requires another level of toughness.

“Cat’s already done incredible things and she will do more,’’ Pieroni said. “She has a great opportunity ahead of her.’’

Pieroni’s path to success has been considerably rougher even though she, too, came to UT with great credentials. She won three consecutive state titles at Nashville’s Goodpasture and never lost a game. Twice named Gatorade’s player of the year, the outlook for Pieroni was bright.

But first she had to wait, spending two years in the shadow of one of the most dominant pitchers in NCAA history, Monica Abbott.

“Monica was the greatest pitcher I had ever seen,’’ said Pieroni, who also overcame foot surgery as an underclassman. “I took the attitude I wanted to do whatever I could to help the team.’’

She still does: Pieroni has made eight starts in right field while Saturday was her sixth pitching start of the season.

UT co-head coach Ralph Weekly acknowledged Pieroni has overtaken Ashton Ward in the rotation and hasn’t decided who he’ll start in today’s game (TV: SportSouth, 1 p.m.).

“Danielle is one of the best athletes Tennessee has turned out,’’ he said. “She threw a good game when we needed it. She’s crafty, and she doesn’t make a lot of mistakes.’’

Pieroni throws 62 mph — 10 mph off Abbott’s pace — but has an effective curve, drop and change-up.

“Danielle’s presence gives the team confidence,’’ said catcher Jen Lapicki, who was 5-for-7 in the doubleheader. “She gets big movement on everything.’’

Pieroni struck out only three, but Mississippi State struggled to make solid contact. It was a sharp contrast to the opener.

“You can’t leave the ball up over the plate,’’ Weekly said. “They nailed (Hosfield) all day long. We don’t need to be learning lessons this late in the season.’’