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Tennessee Softball: Vols Hit With Amazing Fortune in SEC Tournament

By Caleb Calhoun

Jan 1, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers fans cheer during the first half in the 2016 Outback Bowl against the Northwestern Wildcats at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers fans cheer during the first half in the 2016 Outback Bowl against the Northwestern Wildcats at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tennessee softball had an easy path cleared for it to reach the championship game of the SEC Tournament. The Volunteers should not lose until then.

Talk about a path cleared for you by an uncontrolled hand! The Tennessee Vols entered the SEC Tournament likely expecting to face the Missouri Tigers in the first round, a team that took two out of three from them earlier in the year.

And after that, they were expecting to face the Kentucky Wildcats, who got the No. 2 seed over them in the tournament.

But the first bit of luck came Wednesday, when the South Carolina Gamecocks came from out of nowhere in the most amazing comeback maybe ever. Down 4-0 with two outs in the final inning and two strikes, the Gamecocks managed two three-run home runs to win 7-4.

So the Vols got hit with a stroke of incredible fortune just to face the Gamecocks on Thursday, and they took advantage of that luck by winning 5-1.

Then, just as they had to worry about playing the Kentucky Wildcats, the LSU Tigers came in and won a shocker after a three-run homer in the top of the fifth. And now, all of a sudden, the Vols are set to face the Tigers.

To be clear, this match-up won’t be easy, as LSU is also a Top 25 team. But they are a much easier team to face than the Wildcats, particularly because of how prone they are to going scoreless for long periods of time.

As long as Tennessee’s pitching makes no major mistakes, they should win Friday too.

And that gives them a perfect chance in Saturday’s match-up to either get revenge on the Florida Gators, who swept them earlier this year in Gainesville, face the Auburn Tigers or Ole Miss Rebels, both of whom they won series match-ups with this year, or take on the Alabama Crimson Tide, whom they only faced once and barely lost 6-5 in Tuscaloosa.

So yes, get excited Vol Nation. The breaks have fallen your way for this tournament. But Ralph and Karen Weekly have to keep this team focused when they head on to face LSU.

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