Photo Credit: Ryan Beatty/Tennessee Athletics
By Allison Seaton
The No. 9 Lady Vols softball team’s performance during their third and fourth games were
different from the ones before.
Tennessee played Stetson (3-2) and Longwood (12-1) for their second day of the Tennessee
Classic. Despite run-ruling Stetson the day before, the Lady Vols struggled in comparison.
The game against Stetson started out with a single run by Kiki Milloy. She did the same in the third inning after Rylie West doubled to right center field.
Stetson made it onto the board during the fifth inning with two runs. The game was tied until Destiny Rodriguez sent a home run through the left center during the sixth, bringing Tennessee the win.
“I didn’t think the game this morning was good at all,” said Karen Weekly, Tennessee’s head coach, “we were very honest with them about what we’re not doing and what we need to do. It’s a choice they need to make.”
The Lady Vols went on to face Longwood at 4:30. They came out onto the field as if the
previous game was only a stepping stone.
Every inning had at least one run, which is exactly what Tennessee was told to work for.
Milloy started the team off with a homerun through the right field in the first inning. The majority of their runs happened during the second. West homered to center field, sending Laura Mealer, Milloy, and Bella Faw across home plate.
McKenna Gibson had a home run during the third, bringing Mealer in once again. Milloy ended the team’s runs off with a home run during the fourth, increasing the Lady Vols lead to eleven runs.
“We don’t pull any punches and I don’t expect them to,” said Weekly, “they chose a different approach and you saw what happens when they do that.”
The Lady Vols will be ending off the Tennessee Classic March 4 at noon against Longwood.