By Stephen Mason
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Despite the offense continuing to stumble, the No. 7 Lady Vols softball team started the Knoxville Regional with the result it needed, defeating the Northern Kentucky Norse 3-1 on Friday, in front of a packed Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
“It’s a win, and in postseason play that’s all that matters. Survive and advance,” head coach Karen Weekly said. “I’m really proud of our team for staying tough and figuring out a way to win.”
Going into Friday evening’s matchup against the Horizon League champions, whose pitching staff has posted a bloated 5.41 ERA this season, it looked like a prime opportunity for the Lady Vols to get their offense going again; however, Norse pitcher Alicia Flores gave them all sorts of trouble.
“We talked about them being very aggressive, so we really talked about spinning the ball through the zone and changing speed, and just taking advantage of those aggressive swings,” Flores said.
For the most part, Flores accomplished this as Tennessee left nine runners on base over the course of the game, including a bases-loaded threat that ultimately resulted in zero runs.
The Lady Vols, though, were bailed out by a few big swings that willed them to victory.
The first of these came in the second inning, when sophomore Emma Clarke hit a solo shot over the center-field fence to give Tennessee an early 1-0 lead.
Tennessee did not strike again until a second solo shot off the bat of Knoxville native Elsa Morrison put them back in front after Northern Kentucky tied the game in the bottom of the sixth.
“It means a lot … to be there for my team, and get to bounce back on a 1-1 game,” Morrison said. “Any run scored, more than the other team, is going to be a success in the postseason.”
Later in the sixth, an RBI double by Gabby Leach added a run to the Lady Vols’ total and gave the team a cushion heading into the final frame.
While the overall performance was far from glamorous Tennessee’s elite pitching and timely hitting once again powered them through a scrappy game with the Norse.
Taking the circle on Friday was sophomore Erin Nuwer, who put together an outstanding performance in the opening round of the postseason.
“Throwing it by them was really important, and our defense has been really good all year,” Nuwer said. “So just trusting that they are going to put the ball in play, and just having great defense behind us is going to be really important.”
In the seven innings she pitched, Nuwer allowed only one run and one hit, while striking out seven and making five assists. After this performance, the Lady Vols have now kept their opponents to one run or less in 36 of 53 games.
“When you have a staff as deep as we do, I think sometimes people can get overlooked a bit, but they don’t inside of our circle,” Weekly said. “What a luxury it is for us to throw out one of our three aces tonight, and you still have two aces that haven’t thrown a pitch yet.”
Up Next
The win puts the Lady Vols in the winner’s bracket game on Saturday at 3 p.m. against Virginia, who defeated Indiana 8-7 in eight innings. The regional round is played in a double-elimination format, so a victory Saturday afternoon will advance Tennessee into the Regional final on Sunday. However, a loss will leave Tennessee fighting for survival in an elimination game Saturday night.