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Tennessee softball takes two of three at No. 6 Florida: Takeaways

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee’s Ashley Rogers (14) pitches against Mississippi State at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium on Sunday, April 14, 2019.Kns UtsoftballTennesseeaTMs Ashley Rogers (14) pitches against Mississippi State at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium on Sunday, April 14, 2019.
Tennessee’s Ashley Rogers (14) pitches against Mississippi State at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium on Sunday, April 14, 2019.Kns UtsoftballTennesseeaTMs Ashley Rogers (14) pitches against Mississippi State at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium on Sunday, April 14, 2019. /
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Maybe they should play all their conference games away from home. Tennessee softball took two of three from the Florida Gators over the weekend to win its second of three SEC series its played so far this year. Both series wins came in the two they have played on the road so far, oh, and they were both over top 15 teams.

UT, ranked either No. 14 or No. 15, won the first game Friday 6-0 after the first five innings went scoreless. They took the second game 7-2. On Sunday, they lost 4-1 to wrap up the series in Gainesville, Fla., at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Florida, ranked anywhere from No. 4 to No. 6, fell behind 1-0 before scoring four straight.

Karen Weekly’s team improves to 23-8 and 6-2 in the SEC, including 4-1 on the road after winning two at the Missouri Tigers two weeks ago. They have a visit from the Lipscomb Bisons set for Wednesday before hosting the Mississippi State Bulldogs next weekend.

Florida moves to 27-5 and 5-4 in the SEC with a visit from the UCF Knights Wednesday and then a trip to the Auburn Tigers for a three-game series next weekend. Here are three things we learned from Tennessee softball’s huge series win over the weekend.

1. Welcome back Ashley Rogers.

She got the start on Saturday, and it’s thanks to her Tennessee softball was able to clinch the series. Ashley Rogers pitched three innings that day, and while that may not seem like enough, they were three perfect innings. Seriously, she went nine-up, nine-down.

Against those nine batters, Rogers had five strikeouts. Now, she was helped by the offense getting going early that day, as they scored a run before she ever saw the mound and then had another three before her final inning pitched, but she made sure the game stayed in hand.

2. Erin Edmoundson and Bailey McCachren were mostly solid.

On Friday, Erin Edmoundson pitched a complete game shutout. However, she did allow six hits with just five strikeouts. Then, on Sunday, she had a rough outing, allowing four runs on nine hits in fewer than six innings. Three of those runs came in the fifth and sixth innings, as she was wearing down, but she was allowing people to get on base all day.

Meanwhile, Bailey McCachren finished out Saturday’s game. She pitched a near-perfect game too for three innings, but the fourth was concerning, as she allowed two runs. McCachren getting the win that day and Edmoundson’s pitching Friday were both worthy of praise, but they weren’t perfect over the weekend.

3. Heart of the order carried the offense.

Lair Beautae and Zaida Puni are the reason for the wins on offense. On Friday, Beautae went 4-of-4, stole two bases, scored a run and drove in another. Then it was Puni’s turn, and she went 2-of-4 Saturday with a home run and a double, scoring a run and driving in four RBIs on the day.  Beautae had a double Saturday, driving in one run and scoring two herself.

To be fair, neither got things started either day. McKenna Gibson broke a scoreless tie Friday with a solo shot, and Ashley Morgan drove in Ivy Davis and  Kaitlin Parsons with a double in the sixth. Amanda Ayala drove in Kiki Milloy to open up Saturday. Still, those two were the stars of the offense in Tennessee softball’s wins. Puni had a double Sunday too.

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