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March 11, 2009

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Behind a powerful 13-run second inning outburst, No. 6 Tennessee improved to 21-3 overall with a 15-0 (5 inn.) rout of in-state foe Belmont on a blustery Wednesday night at the Lee Softball Stadium.

UT improved its record to 90-3 all-time against "Volunteer State" opponents and 54-0 against in-state squads since the arrival of co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly to helm the Lady Vol program prior to the 2002 season. The Orange & White also scored in the opening inning of a contest for the 16th time in 24 games played this year.

Freshman third baseman Jessica Spigner keyed Tennessee's 12-hit offensive assault by going 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored, her team-best eighth homer of the year and four RBIs, lifting her season RBI total to 22. Sophomore center fielder Kelly Grieve delivered a 3-for-4 effort with a triple, three runs scored, three RBIs and two stolen bases. Senior left fielder Lillian Hammond (2-for-3, two runs, stolen base) and sophomore catcher Jen Lapicki (2-for-2, run scored) each recorded a pair of hits, while Hammond, junior first baseman Tiffany Huff (1-for-1, 3 BB's) and freshman shortstop Ashley Andrews (1-for-2) each tallied a RBI in the rout. For Huff, the RBI was her Southeastern Conference-best 46th of the season, while the perfect offensive night with three free passes helped improve the Saugus, Calif., native's batting average to a staggering .493 overall.

Freshman pitcher Cat Hosfield (16-3) allowed just one hit over three innings of work with a pair of strikeouts in garnering her 16th win of the campaign. Returning from an illness, sophomore Ashton Ward shook off any rust by striking out four Bruins in two innings of hitless relief.

"I'm pretty happy with our offense tonight, positions one through nine in the line-up," Lady Vol co-head coach Karen Weekly said. "We got a lot out of our short game, which is something we really need to key our offense. Jessica Spigner hit really well against Belmont with her eighth homer of the year and four RBIs. Ashton pitched well after coming back from an illness. We're going to need both Ashton and Cat Hosfield to give us good innings from the circle to be successful entering SEC play starting this weekend."

Belmont catcher Hannah Irwin wasted no time starting a threat against Hosfield by opening the top of the first with a lead-off single into the gap in left center. Second baseman Cassie Bollin stepped in and battled the 5-9 right hander over a 12-pitch at-bat before drawing a walk, placing a pair aboard with no one yet retired. A visit to the circle from Lady Vol pitching coach Marty McDaniel seemed to settle down Hosfield. The Murfreesboro, Tenn., native immediately induced a liner from Dawn Troni to UT's Andrews at short and struck out designated player Julie Harmon for two quick outs. The inning came to a close on a routine grounder to third off the bat of Hannah Brenzie as Belmont left a pair stranded.

Grieve christened the bottom half of the first by driving the initial offering from Bruin pitcher Sammi Parks through the right side of the infield for a lead-off single. Grieve swiped her team-best 16th and 17th bases of the year, reaching third with Tennessee RBI-leader Huff standing at the plate. On four consecutive pitches, Huff walked allowing UT to boast runners at the corners with just one retired. On the first pitch to Spigner and with Huff in motion, the catcher Irwin attempted to catch Grieve straying too far off third. Her snap throw ricocheted off the glove of third baseman Hannah Brenzie and into foul ground for an error as Grieve roared home with the game's first run. Junior second baseman Erinn Webb walked putting runners at the corners once again with freshman designated player Shelby Burchell stepping to the dish. The Columbia, Tenn., product bounced routinely to short, but Belmont's Sara Bentley booted the play for the Bruins second error of the inning as Huff scored to make it 2-0. An infield single off the bat of Lapicki loaded the bases for redshirt sophomore Natalee Weissinger. The product of Madison, Tenn., worked the count full to 3-2 before launching a promising blast to deep left. Belmont's Elly Bennett drifted back to the wall and managed to catch the inning-ender on the warning track. A stiff wind blowing straight in seemed to knock the ball down just enough to prevent a grand slam and wrap up a 41-minute first inning.

Hosfield ripped through Belmont in the top of the second one-two-three, bringing up the Lady Vol offense looking for more. Andrews started the inning with a walk and raced around to score on a triple to left field off the bat of Grieve as Belmont left fielder Elly Bennett over-ran the ball and couldn't leap back to get a glove on the shot. Hammond followed with a single through the left side as the advantage grew to four runs with still no one retired. After a stolen base and a Huff free pass placed two on base for Tennessee, Spigner blasted a 1-2 pitch to left field for a double, eventually ending up occupying third on an error during the throw to home plate. That proved costly for Belmont as relief pitcher Julie Harmon uncorked a wild pitch, allowing the runner to score from 60-feet away for a 7-0 lead. Webb walked, Burchell delivered a bloop single to center and Lapicki coerced a free pass as the assault continued in the second frame. With the bases juiced and one down following a UT "K," Andrews singled in a tally, and Grieve followed with a two-run base hit through the right side as the advantage improved to 11-0. Hammond and Huff singled to make it four consecutive hits in the frame. On Huff's base knock to right, Belmont's Amanda Buntin came up throwing home. Unfortunately for the Bruins, her lazer struck the first base umpire in the head on the fly and ricocheted away for the Bruins' fourth error of the contest as two more runs scored. Spigner became the 14th hitter in the inning and demonstrated her power by hammering a shot well beyond the wall in left center, making it 15-0, UT. A pair of groundouts finally ended the frame but not before Tennessee had sent 16 batters to the dish while registering 13 runs on nine hits with the benefit of two errors.

A lead-off walk was quickly wiped away in the top of the third as Hosfield started a 1-6-3 double play. She corralled Irwin's grounder back to the circle, turned and tossed to Andrews who stepped on second before firing to Huff at first, completing the double play. Another bouncer back to the circle, this one from Bollin, concluded the top of the third.

Returning from an illness, Ward opened the top of the fourth for Tennessee in relief and got right back into the swing of things by striking out the side in the form of Belmont's Thoni, Harmon and Brenzie.

Having freely substituted because of the immense gap on the scoreboard, the UT offense managed to keep its run total at 15, looking to Ward to close out the five-inning triumph. The Charlotte, N.C., native did her job despite allowing a lead-off walk in the top of the fifth to Parks. An Andrews to Huff double play wiped off the base runner and a "K" of pinch hitter Erin Gier sealed the dominating victory for the Big Orange.

No. 6 Tennessee opens league action this weekend by hosting the South Carolina Gamecocks for a three-game series over March 14-15. First pitch on both Saturday and Sunday is set for 1 p.m. ET with live radio coverage of all three contests set for the Sports Animal (WNML-AM 990). Live stats will be available through utladyvols.com via Gametracker.