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April 4, 2009

Box Score

BATON ROUGE, La. - Clutch two-out, seventh-inning RBI singles from senior left fielder Lillian Hammond and sophomore center fielder Kelly Grieve backed a five-hit, complete game effort from freshman pitcher Cat Hosfield, helping No. 13 Tennessee (28-8, 5-5 SEC) past No. 17 LSU (22-8, 8-4 SEC), 2-1, in the opener of an important three-game league series on Saturday afternoon at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge, La.

Hammond (2-for-3) and Grieve (1-for-4) each singled in a run, while Hammond and junior second baseman Nicole Kajitani both scored during the decisive seventh-inning rally to guide the UT offense.

Hosfield struck out three and walked four while permitting five hits and one unearned run in registering the 20th win and 13th complete game performance of her career.

The first inning was quiet for both teams as starting pitchers Cat Hosfield and Cody Trahan took turns retiring the opposing offense one-two-three.

A pair of two out walks issued by LSU starter Cody Trahan in the second frame to right fielder Erinn Webb and first baseman Jen Lapicki granted Tennessee its initial two base runners of the contest. Unfortunately a pop-up in foul ground off the right side of the plate left the duo stranded on the base paths.

LSU got a threat started with one retired in the bottom of the third as catcher Morgan Russell walked and advanced to third on a double down the left field line from center fielder Kirsten Shortridge. Tiger left fielder Jazz Jackson beat out an infield single to first to load the bases with still just one out in the inning. On a 2-2 pitch shortstop Juliana Santos drove a shot to left field, but not deep enough to leave the facility especially with an 18-mph wind blowing straight in from the outfield. LSU pinch runner Katie Guillory started to the plate and then had to retreat to third to tag up as left fielder Hammond made the catch. The delay on the base paths seriously hurt the Bayou Bengals as UT's fielder quickly fired the ball to Lapicki standing near the third base line, and she tagged out Guiilory for a huge, rally-killing double play.

After Huff was left standing harmlessly at first base in the top of the fourth after drawing a lead-off free pass from Trahan, Hosfield granted the Tigers their very own lead-off base occupant in the bottom half by striking right fielder Rachel Mitchell with a 0-1 pitch. UT recorded the initial out of the frame on a fielder's choice ground ball from second baseman Ashley Langoni to short. Designated player Ashley Applegate was also hit by a pitch, joining Mitchell on the base paths. Hosfield rebounded quickly from the two hit batters to tally a huge strikeout of first baseman Anissa Young and get closer to escaping another Bayou Bengal threat. Lapicki made a diving grab on a ball off the bat catcher Morgan Russell at first, completing the fourth with the contest still scoreless.

Hammond beat out a two-out infield single in the top of the fifth, but couldn't advance as a sharp liner off the bat of Grieve traveled right to LSU third baseman Jessica Mouse, ending the inning.

LSU received a two-out single through the left side of the infield from Jackson in the fifth. With Santos facing a 1-2 count, the runner successfully swiped a base to achieve scoring position. The stolen bag didn't matter, however, as Hosfield rung up Santos swinging to mark the hurler's second "K" of the contest.

Huff delivered a clean single to center with one retired in the top of the sixth as both offenses desperately searched for that big first run of the game. With Spigner standing at the plate, the runner took off on a steal attempt of second and made it safely as the throw from Russell traveled into center field. Huff eventually ended up occupying third following the throwing miscue. Unfortunately, a Lady Vol strikeout and then a fly ball to center from designated player Shelby Burchell ended the scoring chance with no scoreboard damage.

Mitchell christened LSU's half of the sixth by drawing a walk off Hosfield. Attempting to sacrifice, Langoni got the bunt down but right to Spigner as the third baseman corralled the ball, turned and gunned down the lead runner at second on a huge fielder's choice. Hosfield struck out Applegate and then Young singled just past Spigner at third, placing a pair of Tigers on the bags with two retired and Russell stepping into the box. The LSU catcher popped out harmlessly to Lapicki in foul ground near first base as the scoreboard continued to display all zeroes through six frames.

Kajitani beat out an infield single and quickly swiped a base, granting the Lady Vols some two-out life in their last chance in regulation in the top of the seventh. The senior Hammond came through in the clutch with a huge two-out single back through the middle as Kajitani raced around from second to give Tennessee a 1-0 lead. On the throw to the plate from Tiger center fielder Shortridge, the ball got away for an error allowing Hammond to roll all the way into third. That proved to be a big play as Grieve followed with a slap single through the left side of the infield, allowing Hammond to plate a vital insurance run and make it 2-0.

LSU's Mouse opened the Bayou Bengals' final opportunity to rally in the bottom half of the seventh with a slow roller towards short. Spigner charged to her left to nab the ball and just gunned down the runner at first. Shortridge grounded a ball that was thrown away at first allowing the runner to eventually cruise all the way around to third, igniting a big LSU scoring chance. Jackson grounded a ball to Andrews that the Tumwater, Wash., native handled and tossed on to the bag for the second out of the frame. That brought Santos up as LSU's potential final batter, and she lifted a fly ball into the short outfield. The sphere was dropped for an error as Shortridge scored unearned and Santos ended up standing on second with two retired and the score now 2-1, UT. The dangerous Mitchell with her 23 RBIs was intentionally walked by Hosfield to get to Langoni in the order. The LSU hitter got ahead in the count 2-1 before swinging and missing for strike two. A passed ball on that swing allowed the lead runner to move within 60 feet of tying the score. With a full count and a runner on third, Langoni lifted a pop-up to short that Andrews squeezed to end the game in favor of the Big Orange.

No. 13 Tennessee continues its Saturday doubleheader against No. 18/17 LSU at approximately 3:50 p.m. CT from Tiger Park in Baton Rouge, La. The Sports Animal (99.1, 99.3 FM, 990 AM) is on site to radio broadcast the entire three-game set with "The Voice of the Lady Vols" Mickey Dearstone calling the action. Sunday's series finale will be disseminated live via FOX Sports South as part of the SEC-TV package. Live stats will be available through utladyvols.com.