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March 15, 2009

Box Score |  Photo Gallery 

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - With freshman third baseman Jessica Spigner hammering her team-best ninth home run and junior second baseman Erinn Webb her fourth big fly of the season, No. 6 Tennessee (22-3, 1-0 SEC) successfully opened Southeastern Conference play on Sunday afternoon at the Lee Softball Stadium with an 8-1 win over South Carolina (12-8, 0-6 SEC).

Both teams were forced to sit through a 56-minute rain delay during the bottom of the opening inning before resuming action with the Lady Vol offense eventually banging out 10 hits in the match-up.

Spigner led the offense by going 2-for-4 at the plate with her three-run homer and four RBIs, while Webb knocked in a trio on her big fly as part of a 1-for-4 effort. Sophomore center fielder Kelly Grieve scored twice and posted a 1-for-3 performance with an RBI, and sophomore catcher Jen Lapicki tallied a pair of hits in three at-bats.

UT rookie right hander Cat Hosfield picked up her 17th win of the season after allowing six hits and striking out seven over six innings of work. Sophomore Ashton Ward allowed one tally on two hits over an inning of relief.

With Hosfield having roared through the top of the first inning one-two-three, Tennessee's offense came to the plate in the bottom half with a light rain falling. Grieve led-off with a walk and senior left fielder Lillian Hammond faced a 2-1 count as South Carolina head coach Joyce Compton quickly summoned in Audrey Broyles in relief of starter Kierstyn White. That's when the heavens opened forcing the tarp crew to race on to cover the playing field. Following a lengthy, 56-minute break, and then a strikeout, Grieve raced around to third on a double into the left field corner off the bat of junior first baseman Tiffany Huff. Spigner popped up on the infield for the second out of the frame. Webb promptly stepped in the box and blasted her fourth homer of the season, deep over the right field wall, as the Lady Vols nabbed a quick 3-0 advantage.

South Carolina got its initial base runner in the top of the second as S.C.'s Evan Childs coerced a free pass with one down. Center fielder Kristen Stubblefield followed by blooping a base hit into left center as Childs advanced into scoring position. Broyles moved both runners up 60 feet on a slow roller to Huff at first. Lindsay Walker was at 1-1 in the count before popping up harmlessly to short as UT's Ashley Andrews squeezed the ball for the third out.

The Tennessee offense added more to its advantage on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second. Senior right fielder Danielle Pieroni opened the frame by beating out an infield single to third and advanced to second via a passed ball charged to catcher P.J. Fulmer. Grieve laced a single to center allowing Pieroni the chance to round third and cross the plate as the lead grew to four runs. Huff drew a walk from Broyles to set the stage for a power show from Spigner. The Santa Clarita, Calif., native hammered a towering shot to deep right center for her team-best ninth HR of the year as the count improved to 7-0, UT.

In desperate need of a rally, South Carolina received a walk from Hosfield to left fielder Lauren Lackey and a single to deep short with two outs from Laura Mendes as the Gamecocks recorded a pair of base runners in the top of the third. Fulmer battled the 5-9 right hander over an 11-pitch at-bat before becoming the fourth "K" victim of the contest.

Making her first career appearance in the circle in the bottom of the third, South Carolina's Ashley Chastain entered the contest in relief of Broyles. Effective immediately with a strikeout against her first batter, Chastain didn't have as much success against Lapicki as the Oldwick, N.J., product drove a pitch the other way down the line and into the corner for a one-out double. A wild pitch advanced the runner, and then Pieroni walked, placing occupants at first and third. Unfortunately, a pair of strikeouts left the Lady Vol duo stranded as the lead remained 7-0.

South Carolina's Childs started the fourth with a clean single back up the middle against new Lady Vol pitcher Ward. Stubblefield bounced to third as Spigner corralled the ball and threw across the diamond with Childs improving to second. On a 2-2 offering Broyles lined a shot to left that threatened to drop in front of Hammond. The Chattanooga, Tenn., native raced in and slid on her knees to make a basket catch just off the ground for an impressive second out. Walker ended the shutout, however, on an RBI base knock up the middle as pinch runner Cagney Davis scored from second, cutting the S.C. deficit to 7-1.

After both teams wasted a two-bagger in the fifth and the Gamecocks left a pair stranded in the top of the sixth, Tennessee plated a run in the bottom of the sixth. Following a two-out Huff walk, Spigner blasted a RBI double down the left field line as freshman pinch runner Holly Baker scored all the way from first, making it 8-1.

Mendes laced a double into the left center field gap, and Fulmer singled to left as the Gamecocks attempted a one-out rally in the top of the seventh. Hosfield responded to the threat by striking out Childs and inducing a ground ball to second from Stubblefield as the Big Orange secured its 22nd win of the year.

No. 6 Tennessee returns to action in the second game of a doubleheader with South Carolina at approximately 4 p.m. ET at the Lee Softball Stadium. Live stats will be available through utladyvols.com via Gametracker.