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Tennessee softball: Three takeaways from Lady Vols’ 2-3 record at Elite Invitational

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee’s Ashley Morgan (7) naps the line drive for an out in the third game of the series against Mississippi State at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium on Sunday, April 14, 2019.Kns UtsoftballTennesseeaTMs Ashley Morgan (7) naps the line drive for an out in the third game of the series against Mississippi State at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium on Sunday, April 14, 2019.
Tennessee’s Ashley Morgan (7) naps the line drive for an out in the third game of the series against Mississippi State at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium on Sunday, April 14, 2019.Kns UtsoftballTennesseeaTMs Ashley Morgan (7) naps the line drive for an out in the third game of the series against Mississippi State at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium on Sunday, April 14, 2019. /
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After going undefeated in the Felsberg Invitational in Miami to open the season, Tennessee softball spent its second weekend of the year at another event in Florida. This time, the schedule was a lot tougher, and they produced mixed results.

At the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational in Clearwater, Fla., UT won just two of five games and played four games against ranked teams. They started things off with an 11-3 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Thursday. However, then they were blown out by two top 10 teams, the Florida State Seminoles and Washington Huskies.

Karen Weekly’s team lost 4-3 on an error in the ninth to another top 15 team, the Clemson Tigers, before closing things out with a 6-2 win Saturday over the No. 24 UCF knights. UT finishes out the weekend with a 6-3 record and will next travel to California for the Mary Nutter Classic beginning Thursday. Here’s are three things we learned from Tennessee softball’s weekend.

1. A pitching injury exposed lack of depth.

Ashley Rogers had a rough start against Notre Dame, allowing three runs in the first two innings. She then had to leave due to a medical issue and never pitched the rest of the series. Erin Edmoundson pitched the bulk of the rest of the event, totaling 17 innings. It started with her finishing the opener and not allowing any runs, and she only allowed five earned runs all weekend.

However, behind Rogers and Edmoundson, there are issues. Bailey McCachren allowed five earned runs in fewer than eight innings pitched, although she allowed none against UCF in nearly three innings. Nichola Simpson allowed three hits in less than an inning pitched. Samantha Bender allowed four earned runs in just over two innings pitched.

2. Defense had way too many errors.

Yes, Tennessee softball lost its best pitcher and has some issues with depth there. However, the defense cost them the game. They lost to Clemson off an error in the ninth. In all three losses, they had nine errors, which made them worse than they had to be.

In fact, an insane 10 of the 24 runs they allowed during those three losses were unearned runs. Now, they did have five unearned runs over the weekend, but four came against Notre Dame, and they still had seven earned runs. Allowing five against FSU, though, put that game out of reach, and that final unearned run allowed against Clemson was the difference.

3. Long ball continues to carry Lady Vols.

Kiki Milloy was the star again over the weekend with home runs against Notre Dame and Clemson. Rocky Top had five home runs throughout these five games, and they had two in each of their wins. This is a carry-over from the first weekend, which is why they went undefeated.

In addition to Milloy shining, Ivy Davis hit one against Notre Dame, and she and Ashley Morgan both had one against UCF. Those three already have combined for 10 home runs on the year, with four from Davis and three from both Milloy and Morgan.

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