April 11, 2009
Knoxville, Tenn. - Nicole Kajitani's seventh-inning, walk-off triple scored two runs to give No. 12 Tennessee a 3-2 win over Auburn and complete a double-header sweep Saturday in softball action. The Lady Vols won game one 2-1 in 11 innings.
The Tigers return to action Tuesday night in Auburn with a single game against South Alabama. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m.
"These were two very tough, hard-fought games," Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. "I'm very proud of the job our pitchers did in both games. Anna and Jenee did a great job against a good hitting team. Now we just have come back and get ready for South Alabama."
Jenee Loree took the loss in game two to fall to 11-7. Loree allowed three runs, all earned, on seven hits in 6.1 innings of work. Loree walked four and struck out five.
Cat Hosfield earned the win in game two. Hosfield improved to 24-8 after giving up two runs, both earned, on six hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.
Tennessee took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Tiffany Huff drove in Kajitani with a single through the left side. Kajitani doubled to open the inning and was followed by a walk issued to Kelly Grieve which brought up Huff.
Lindsey Harrelson tied the game at 1-1 with a sac fly to left that scored Cassie Trosclair in the top of the third inning. Trosclair doubled to left-center to open the inning and moved to third on a single up the middle by Kyndall White. Harrelson then delivered the sac fly to even the game.
The game remained tied entering the seventh inning. Elizabeth Eisterhold opened the seventh with a single and was lifted for pinch-runner Megan Mitchell. A sac bunt by Lauren Guzman moved Mitchell to second and, with two outs, White singled to left to score Mitchell and give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.
The Lady Vols rallied, however, in the bottom of the seventh. Shelby Burchell walked and was lifted for pinch-runner Holly Baker. Baker moved to second on a sac bunt and a single by Ashley Andrews moved Baker to third. Kajitani then laced a triple to the wall in right to score both runners and give Tennessee a 3-2 victory and series sweep.
In game one, 12th-ranked Tennessee won 2-1 in 11 innings despite a 175-pitch, complete-game performance from Auburn pitcher Anna Thompson. Danielle Pieroni's one-out, RBI single in the bottom of the 11th scored Ashley Andrews from third to give the Lady Vols the win.
Thompson took the loss to fall to 13-8. Thompson threw 10.1 innings, allowing two runs, both earned, on nine hits with three walks and 12 strikeouts.
Cat Hosfield earned the win to improve to 23-8. Hosfield was the third UT pitcher of the game and threw the final 2.0 innings allowing just one hit with two strikeouts.
Pitching dominated early as neither the Tigers nor Lady Vols picked up a hit through the first three innings of play.
Tennessee scratched out the first hit of the game with an infield single to shortstop by Kelly Grieve to open the bottom of the fourth inning. Grieve promptly stole second to move into scoring position, but Thompson slammed the door on the scoring threat as she retired the next three hitters to strand the runner at second.
The Tigers got their first base runner of the game with one out in the top of the fifth. Myesha Finney laced a double off the wall in right to give the Tigers their first scoring threat of the day. Finney would be stranded at second, however, as Pieroni fanned Elizabeth Eisterhold and got Taryn Gray to fly out to right to end the inning.
The scoreless tie was broken in the bottom of the sixth when Kajitani hit a lead-off, solo home run to left to give the Lady Vols a 1-0 lead. It was Kajitani's third home run of the season and came on a 3-2 pitch.
The Lady Vols' lead didn't last long, however, as Lindsey Harrelson blasted a solo home run to begin the seventh inning and tie the game at 1-1. Harrelson's dinger was her fourth of the year and came on a 2-1 pitch from Pieroni.
Following the homer, Tatiana Fernandez drew a walk and was lifted for pinch-runner Megan Mitchell. Ashton Ward was then brought in to pitch for Pieroni. Amber Harrison moved Mitchell to second with a sac bunt for the first out of the inning. Finney then hit a long fly ball to left that was caught just shy of the wall for the second out of the inning. Eisterhold then fouled out to third to end the inning.
The Lady Vols mounted a serious scoring threat in the bottom of the ninth. Spigner singled to open the inning and was lifted for pinch-runner Holly Baker. Erinn Webb walked and Ashley Andrews singled to shallow left to load the bases with no outs. Pieroni then fouled out to Kyndall White at third for the first out of the inning.
Thompson then fanned Hammond on a called third strike for the second out of the inning. Thompson followed that with a swinging strikeout of Kajitani to end the inning with the bases loaded.
In the bottom of the 11th, Andrews laced a one-out triple down the left field line to put the winning run in scoring position for Tennessee. Pieroni then brought Andrews home with a single up the middle to give Tennessee a 2-1 win.