Tennessee Opens Series With 8-0 Defeat Of State In Five
Big Orange Erupt For 10 Hits, Two Homers
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Homestanding Tennessee (24-11, 3-4 SEC) put together multi-run rallies in three different innings and rode a three-hit shutout from freshman pitcher Stacey Jennings to snap a three-game home skid to visiting Mississippi State (22-11, 2-5) with a 8-0 rout of the Bulldogs in the series opener at Tyson Park on Saturday afternoon.
State mustered just three hits ? singles from freshman Callye Williams (1-for-2) and Krystal Tillman (1-for-2) and a triple from Iyhia McMichael (1-for-2), who pushed her hitting streak to 13 games. Tennessee got multi-hit performances from the heart of its lineup, led by catcher Kristi Durant who drove in a trio of runs on a perfect 2-for-2 hitting day. Amber Rhinehart (2-for-2, 2 RBI, R) and Angela Brewer (1-for-1) both homered for the Big Orange.
State starter Melissa Massey (14-4) lasted just one inning after giving up a pair of runs on three Lady Vols hits. Courtney Frank worked two innings allowing three earned runs on four hits, while freshman Summer Delaneuville worked three outs, allowing three earned runs on a trio of Lady Vol knocks. Jennings (14-7) faced just 18 batters in recording a three-hit shutout for UT.
Tennessee set the tone of the game right away, sending the Bulldogs down in order in the top half of the first, then taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom half of the inning on run scoring hits from Durant and Lauren Mattox. Tennessee got a leadoff homer from Brewer in the second to stretch its lead out to 3-0, then put two more runs on the board in the third on Amber Rhinehart?s two-run blast.
The Lady Vols finished off the ?’Dogs in the fourth on a RBI groundout from Katherine Card and Durant?s two-run double down the leftfield line.
| TENNESSEE 8, MISSISSIPPI STATE 0 (5 Innings) | |||||||
| Mississippi State | 000 | 00 | - | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Tennessee | 212 | 3x | - | 8 | 10 | 0 | |
Massey, Frank (2), Delaneuville (4) and Waterman; Jennings and Durant. W ? Jennings (14-7). L ? Massey (14-4). Save ? None. 2B UT, Card (4), Durant 2 (8). 3B MSU, McMichael (5). HR UT, Rhinehart (3), Brewer (4).