Tennessee’s softball team took one on the chin Saturday afternoon.
“Our motto was ‘throw punches,’ ’’ Lady Vols co-head coach Ralph Weekly said. “We absorbed a lot today. We took a lot of punches.”
Oklahoma State came out swinging in a pivotal game of the Knoxville Regional, scoring in each of the first two innings and proceeding to a 6-1 victory before a crowd of 1,649 at Lee Stadium.
“I think (the early runs) gave us some momentum we were able to hold the whole game,” Oklahoma State coach Rich Wieligman said.
Alysia Hamilton had three hits and drove in three runs. She hit a solo homer in the fifth. Meanwhile, starting pitcher Kat Espinosa (22-7) went six-plus inning and managed to minimize nine UT hits.
With the victory, the Cowgirls (39-17) advanced to Sunday’s championship game, one victory away from advancing to the super-regional round. Equally important, they were able to adjourn to air-conditioned comfort and relax.
“It’s hot out there,’’ Wieligman said.
Tennessee, on the other hand, was still feeling the heat, facing an elimination game against Georgia Tech, which eliminated Liberty 4-3, on Saturday night.
While Kat Dotson had an RBI double in the fifth, the Lady Vols stranded at least two baserunners in four innings.
“I felt like we were making contact,’’ UT third baseman Raven Chavanne said, “but I felt like we didn’t get the timely hits.”
The loss was just the fourth at home this season for Tennessee (48-11).
“We were trying to be upbeat but I didn’t feel the energy there,’’ Chavanne said. “Against a team as good as Oklahoma State, you have to be ready to go from the very beginning.”
A hit batsmen and a walk factored into Oklahoma State’s first two runs.
Leadoff hitter Mariah Gearhart was hit by a pitch in the first, advanced on a sacrifice and scored on Hamilton’s double.
In the second, UT starter Ellen Renfroe walked leadoff hitter Tamara Brown. She advanced on a sacrifice and scored on Sammy Jo Diffendaffer’s double.
Renfroe walked three more in the sixth and two of the runners scored in the three-run inning. Renfroe (26-6) was charged with all six Oklahoma State runs. The SEC tournament MVP allowed eight hits and issued six walks.
“I had a hard time getting in a groove today,’’ Renfroe said. “It happens. I’m not going to be perfect every game, but you know I’ve got to find a way to make it work.”
Weekly was non-committal on his starting pitcher for Saturday’s late game.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Softball: Tennessee 2, Georgia 1
Tennessee defeats Georgia 3-2 in…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 12
tmartin writes:
Darn you, Hamilton!!
vol4good#206163 writes:
Tough Luck ladies! Keep Fighting!
MajorMustard writes:
guess the seeding was right
orangecountyvols writes:
Vols,
Ouch! First off, a prime example of a pitcher controlling the game. Get this.........the OSU pitcher has gone each game. It seemed safe to go
with Ellen..........she had a better record than Ivy. However, maybe here experience was paramount. We hit the ball............into people's glove all day, and several times looked at a 3rd strike down the middle of the plate.
The little things can get you in a hole.........and right off there was the OSU leadoff hitter, leading the nation in getting hit by a pitch.....she stood there and took one without trying to get out of the way. So there we went, the first 5 innings the leadoff hitter was on.
Our girls got people on with 2 outs and would then pop up. Ellen just didn't have it, getting behind, we made at least one error, 2 players falling over themselves in the out field, etc.
Bottom line, lately we've struggled getting runs early and this was the result when we gave them up our selves, then couldn't hit the dominating pitcher.
No, Hamilton has nothing to do with women's softball.
Now, we shall find out a lot about our Lady Vols. No doubt, Ivy will pitch any games wave left. Kat Osterman is someone we have lost contact with........so who knows if we'll need her?
MajorMustard writes:
It seems in several big games that I have watched that we have too many defensive errors. This team may just be too young to make a run this year.
dwolfcreek#397971 writes:
Yeap, FIRE FULMER AGAIN .
LJS1984 writes:
Very young team that has made way too big of a deal about the seeding. I had a feeling that this talented squad probably wasn't going to go very far. Got to win now.
JimmyJoe writes:
Pitchers need to throw strikes. There is no excuse for Tennessee to be in the losers bracket tonite with their ace pitching at home against an inferior team in the NCAA 's with a supposed chip on their shoulder.... I guess osu knocked that chip off their shoulder and over the left field wall.
jbc writes:
How about a game time?
"Tennessee, on the other hand, was still feeling the heat, facing an elimination game against Georgia Tech, which eliminated Liberty 4-3, on Saturday night."
PureOrange writes:
Guess our girls just determined to prove the embarrassing seeding was really right.
We just have to choke every so often. This just happened to be a very bad time to do it.
huntined#565710 writes:
GAME TIME?????
VolNExile writes:
We won, right? Trying to make sense of the news blurbs. Apparently we beat Ga Tech 7-0 to advance.
I'm a soccer mom and endlessly confused by softball tournies...
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