The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Tennessee
Blazers Suffer Season-Ending Loss To Tennessee
5/19/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 19, 2012
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The No. 5 Tennessee Lady Vols captured an 8-0 run-rule victory over the UAB Blazers in an elimination game Saturday in the Knoxville Regional of the 2012 NCAA Softball Championship at Lee Stadium.
The Blazers finished the 2012 season with a record of 37-22 after earning their third consecutive at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Tennessee (47-11) moves on to face Miami (Ohio) in the second elimination game of the tournament on Saturday.
"We didn't play to our potential," UAB head coach Marla Townsend said. "It doesn't change the fact that these ladies put it on the line all year and I'm proud of them. This group of seniors came in four years ago and turned the program around. Their leadership has been tremendous."
The Lady Vols scored one run in the second and third innings to take an early 2-0 lead. The Blazers loaded the bases with two outs in the second inning but were unable to score.
Tennessee added two more runs in the fourth inning on a single by Kat Dotson to take a 4-0 lead.
The Lady Vols doubled their score with a four-run fifth inning. An RBI-double from Melissa Brown scored Lauren Gibson, who reached on a single up the right field line. Gibson scored as Shelby Burchell singled up the middle to give UT a 6-0 lead. The Lady Vols added two additional runs off the bat of Raven Chavanne before UAB recorded the third out.
"We knew they were going to come out battling," Townsend said. "You have to hit with them and we didn't do that. We had opportunities early on to come through. We gave them momentum and that's all they needed."
The Blazers used a trio of pitchers in the loss. Amber Torres (10-5) earned the start and suffered the loss, pitching 2.1 innings. Lannah Campbell entered in relief and pitched 2.1 innings, followed by Leigh Streetman who pitched 0.1 innings.
Ivy Renfroe (20-8) picked up the win, pitching the final 3.1 innings after relieving her younger sister Ellen Renfroe.
