The sign in the Tennessee softball dugout was short and to the point: "Be Tennessee.''
The 16th-ranked Lady Vols did just that, clawing out a dramatic 6-5 victory over 20th-ranked LSU in the first round of the the SEC tournament at Lee Stadium on Thursday night.
It was a step back toward the type of clutch, gritty play that made UT a national power since co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly took over the program in 2002.
A step, but at 7 o'clock tonight the Lady Vols (38-15-1) will need to climb a mountain as they'll meet No. 1 Florida (52-3), the defending SEC tournament champions. The Gators eliminated UT from last year's SEC tournament by a 6-1 count, and outscored the Lady Vols 18-1 in sweeping the three-game series in Gainesville in March.
"I'd like to think that was earlier this season, and I've become a smarter, better pitcher since then,'' said UT freshman pitcher Cat Hosfield, who pitched herself into - and out of - a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh.
Hosfield (28-1-1) hit a batter and walked two in the final frame before second baseman Nicole Kajitani finished the game with a quick throw to first on a groundout.
"I knew the ball was coming to me, and I was hoping it would,'' Kajitani said. "There was so much emotion; it was so important for us to win this.''
Alabama and Kentucky meet at 5 p.m. in today's other semifinal game. The No. 3 Tide beat Arkansas 8-0, and Kentucky beat No. 6 Georgia 2-0. The winners of today's games play at 1:30 p.m. Saturday for the championship.
Florida coach Tim Walton said he's expecting to see Hosfield's best tonight.
"She does a great job throwing multiple pitches,'' Walton said. "With the tournament being here in Tennessee, and Cat pitching and being from Tennessee, it will be very special for her.''
The Lady Vols jumped out to a 5-0 lead on LSU (32-16-1) with the aid of three Tigers' errors.
LSU coach Yvette Girouard, whose team lost a doubleheader to the Lady Vols in Baton Rouge on April 4, confirmed that UT once again managed to bring out the worst in the Tigers.
"I don't want to take anything away from Tennessee, but yes,'' Girouard said. "I'll be content without seeing any other orange team the rest of the season.''
The Tigers pulled to 5-4 in the third, an inning that saw Hosfield pulled for seven batters while Jessica Spigner struggled and allowed four runs to cross the plate.
Hosfield re-entered with two outs and two runners on and fanned the next batter to retire the side.
The Lady Vols added their final run in the fourth on Kelly Grieve's RBI single before LSU tallied with a run in the fifth.
© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Comments » 12
Voluvr writes:
yep.
BillVol writes:
Girouard sounds like a sore loser to me.
dbc5361 writes:
Womens softball, lol.
EnglewoodVol writes:
you're a jerry's kid. they don't wan't to play us.
armyvol22 writes:
I bet you can't hit them.
Way to go Lady Vols. Keep it up. Make a pair of sandals out of those gators.
orangeluvr writes:
Will the lady Gators be wearing their tebow panties?
volboy81 writes:
LSU sure did play a sorry game to have been talking so big about revenge after we wiped them out in Baton Rouge earlier this year...the only reason we didnt sweep them is the stupid SEC softball rules that take runs away if an inning isnt finished....so we tied them!
GO LADY VOLS...BEAT THE TEE-BOW PANTY GIRLS!!
rclarkfork#639958 writes:
Would love to see them knock off the lady gators....go gettem girls
JCforUTVols writes:
lets see if the lady vols can bring out the worst in the gators, go vols
Basketball_Jones writes:
OK, who is the hottie in the picture on the right?
rich182x writes:
That chick on the left on the front page is smokin!!@!
Brentwoodvol writes:
You sir are a jerk. These ladies work very hard and put just as much work in as anybody. Plus they carry the VOLS with pride. Way to go ladies go get some gators!!!!
GO VOLS
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