Tennessee Volunteers: Baseball And Softball Update

Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Lost in all the hoopla of March Madness this weekend were the Tennessee Volunteers baseball and softball programs. Both teams had a full slate this weekend, let’s take a look at the results.

Baseball

The Tennessee Volunteers dropped two of three games against the Alabama Crimson Tide this past weekend. The Volunteers remain over the .500 mark with a 10-9 record.

Friday’s game saw the Vols jump out to an early 1-0 lead behind an RBI groundout from Scott Price. The Crimson Tide quickly answered with four runs in the bottom of the second.

Things only escalated from there.

The Vols would not score again and Alabama piled on the runs, finishing with 12 runs on 11 hits in a 12-1 victory.

Senior Zack Godley suffered the loss, falling to 1-2 on the season.

Tennessee again jumped out to an early lead in Saturday’s game, scoring two runs in the top of the 2nd. Alabama would later take the lead after scoring a run in the third and two more in the 5th. The Vols quickly answered in the 6th with a Pierce Bily RBI single and another run on a throwing error by Alabama reliever Keaton Haack. Tenenssee would add to their lead, eventually taking a 7-3 lead into the bottom of the 8th. The Crimson Tide rallied, scoring three runs in the 8th, but reliever Drake Owenby came in and shut the door on the Tide.

Trevor Bettencourt (2-1) was credited with the win for the Vols and Drake Owenby picked up his first save of the year in the 7-6 win.

The rubber game on Sunday was an ugly affair for the Volunteers. Tennessee scored first for the third straight game, but Alabama scored 8 runs in the bottom of the first. The Vols would not score again and the Tide would add 7 more runs for a 15-1 win in the series finale.

Andy Cox, who only pitched two-thirds of an inning, took the loss for Tennessee. Cox is now 1-2 on the season.

Next up for the Vols is a game against Western Carolina on Wednesday evening at 6:00 pm est in Knoxville.

Softball

The Lady Vols dropped their first series of the year, losing two out of three to the Florida Gators.

Florida was able to hold off a late rally from Tennessee in the opening game on Friday. The Lady Vols erased a two-run deficit in the 7th inning, but left runs on the field, leaving the bases loaded. The Gators scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the 8th on a bases-loaded walk, giving Florida a 6-5 win.

Ivy Renfroe took the loss for the Vols, as she was responsible for the runner on third.

The Lady Vols were able to win 3-1 on Saturday behind strong pitching from Ellen Renfroe. The junior struck out a season-high 14 batters in a complete game win. Renfroe gave up only one run in 8 innings to improve to 8-1 on the season.

Just like the baseball team, the Lady Vols found themselves in a rubber game on the road against an SEC rival on Sunday. Just like the men the Lady Vols were unable to bring home the series victory.

The Lady Vols took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the 6th, but the Gators scored three in the bottom of the 6th and took the 5-3 victory with two runs in the bottom of the 8th.

Ivy Renfroe suffered her second loss of the weekend, falling to 9-3 overall.

Tennessee’s record now stands at 23-6.

The Lady Vols will next take on Murray State on Tuesday evening at 6:oo pm est in Knoxville