March 15, 2009
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Two three-run home runs led No. 7/6 Tennessee to an 8-1 win over South Carolina in the first game of the doubleheader at Shari Parker Lee Softball Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Tennessee (22-3, 1-0 SEC) took the 3-0 lead after the 56-minute rain delay when Erin Webb drove a 2-1 pitch over the wall in right, plating Kelly Grieve and Tiffany Huff in the process. Grieve drew a leadoff walk from Gamecock freshman starter Kierstyn White (5-1) before the rain halted play. After a strikeout, Huff got a double off freshman reliever Audrey Broyles before Broyles got Jessica Spigner to pop up for the second out. Webb followed with her blast to put the Lady Vols up, 3-0.
The home team added to their lead in the second. Danielle Pieroni led off the frame with a hit, moved into scoring position on a passed ball and scored on Grieve’s RBI single. After a sacrifice moved Grieve up, the Gamecocks walked Huff to put two runners on. Spigner made them pay for that with a three-run shot over the wall in center.
South Carolina tried to work its way back into the contest in the fourth. Freshman Evan Childs led off the inning with a single and moved to second on Kristen Stubblefield’s grounder. A lineout put the Gamecocks down to one out in the frame, but junior Lindsay Walker came through with a single, scoring Childs.
The Lady Vols tacked on another run in the sixth. With two outs, Huff walked, and pinch runner Holly Baker came around to score when Spigner doubled down the left-field line.
White got the loss, walking one batter in the start. Sophomore Ashley Chastain made her first appearance in the Garnet and Black, going four innings while allowing one earned run on five hits and two walks. She struck out four. Cat Hosfield (17-3) got the win, allowing six hits and three runs in six innings of work, fanning seven in the process.
The Gamecocks left 11 on base, compared to six by the Lady Vols. Three Gamecocks had two hits each, as sophomores Laura Mendes and P.J. Fulmer along with Walker all had a pair of hits. Senior Ashton Payne saw her hitting streak snapped at five games after coming on as a pinch hitter in the fourth, getting intentionally walked in her first at bat before grounding into a fielder’s choice in the sixth.
