Tennessee's softball team has a problem, and co-head coach Ralph Weekly says it should be pretty obvious.
"You score six runs and get 10 hits, and you should win a fastpitch softball game,'' Weekly said. "Our pitchers missed their spots all day.
"Pitching is like real estate: location, location, location.''
Weekly didn't have to sell Mississippi State (17-16, 2-10 SEC) on the notion. The Bulldogs cashed in on the Lady Vols' struggles on the mound, pounding 14 hits en route to the 10-6 victory at Lee Softball Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
UT (26-8, 4-5) squandered leads of 3-1, 4-2 and 6-4 as Mississippi State batted around in a five-run sixth.
Lady Vols freshman Cat Hosfield - one of the most decorated prospects the state of Tennessee has produced - appeared as overwhelmed as she did in her loss to the Bulldogs on Saturday.
Hosfield (18-7) surrendered nine hits and seven earned runs in 32<0x2044>3 innings before a shivering crowd of 692 and a SportSouth regional cable television audience.
Senior Danielle Pieroni, who pitched a complete-game shutout Saturday, was touched for two runs and four hits in 2 1/3 innings.
"Mississippi State was hitting .204 in the conference, but they went after our pitchers like sharks with blood in the water,'' Weekly said. "They attacked us all day long.''
Weekly took note of the offensive performances of Erin Webb and Shelby Burchell.
Webb bounced back from an 0-for-7 performance Saturday to go 3-for-4 with a home run, triple and three RBIs. Webb's triple was one of three on the day for UT, tying a school mark.
Burchell stayed hot after going 4-for-4 Saturday, making it a 6-for-7 weekend.
"It's not like the whole team is playing bad; we came into this series leading the SEC in fielding percentage and our hitting has been good,'' Weekly said. "But we had a bad weekend on the mound.''
Mississippi State coach Jay Miller, also the Team USA coach, said young pitchers have a tendency to struggle in the SEC.
"She (Hosfield) has a lot of potential, but she's a freshman,'' Miller said. "Freshmen aren't used to getting hit like they're going to get hit in the SEC.
"The good ones bounce back.''
Weekly said he'll use every resource to ensure his pitchers, particularly Hosfield, do just that.
"We'll find out why they are struggling and missing their spots, and we'll go back to basics,'' Weekly said. "All three coaches will be present for every pitching workout the rest of the year.
"I'm going to fix it. I'll use every bit of our allotted time to get it done.''
UT plays host to Texas-El Paso 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
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Comments » 5
MrBamSeydu writes:
Okay, let me get this straight.......
Men's basketball gets put out in the 1st round and loses against Mississippi State for it's chance at the first ever SEC Tourney Championship.
Women's basketball gets put out in the 1st round for the first time ever and has the worst record in program history.
Football team goes 5-7 and misses bowl game for 2nd time in 3 years. Fulmer gets fired.
Baseball team sucks.
And now softball team, a consensus top-5 program over the past few seasons, is now 26-8 and has a losing record in conference play.
I see, I see.... well.....
volfan73120#211815 writes:
What is the story about Ashley Ward. Is she still ill?
Volunatic writes:
If the softball team doesn't get better in a hurry, UT fans might as well skip ahead to "doldrums" mode-- and start paying attention again when football practice starts in early August.
littleorange writes:
Can't win at the elite level with the pitching performances thus far.......Some great freshmen are fielding and hitting well, but it's not enough .....
playball writes:
I watched Pieroni sit the bench for almost 4 years now. What a waste of talent. She never had the oportunity to prove what she could do.
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