The Tennessee softball team won its 86th straight game against an in-state opponent. The Volunteers did it by trouncing the Lipscomb Bisons 7-1.
Meghan Gregg and Brooke Vines moved the Vols to 26-8 on the year as the two combined for five RBI’s to carry the No. 17 ranked Tennessee Vols softball team to a dominant victory over the Lipscomb Bisons, 7-1.
Tennessee treated its midweek break in the middle of the state like a business trip and did exactly what it needed to do, extending its winning streak to five games, before getting ready to face the No. 16 ranked Missouri Tigers this weekend.
The Vols got great pitching from both Erin Gabriel and Rainey Griffin as they jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the fourth inning.
One inning would be more than enough for them, but they got plenty after both innings. Another run in the sixth inning extended the lead to 7-1.
The win had to be more than enough to satisfy Ralph and Karen Weekly.
In his postgame video accessible via UTSports, Ralph Weekly said that the Vols’ 86th win against an in-state opponent speaks to pride for the university beyond anything else.
“We want to win every time we play an in-state school,” he said. “There are several really good ones in our state, and I don’t know how long this thing’s going to run, but I was happy tonight to get out of here with a win.”
The good news for the Vols is they can clearly run the table against teams they’re supposed to be, and sweeping the No. 25 ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs shows they may have finally turned the corner in beating really good teams as well.
But as they play a three-game road series against a Top 25 SEC team this weekend, they have to continue to prove that and show that it was a trend, not a fluke.