After a delayed start and a mid-game delay, Tennessee got a dominant win over Central Michigan on Saturday, 9-0.
Both teams were scoreless going into the first delay in the bottom of the second.
The delay gave the team a chance to relax, but also talk about adjustments that need to be made.
“We really just kind of let them relax and just be themselves for a while,” co-head coach Karen Weekly said. “They just danced a bit and listened to the music.
“Then when we know we’re getting a little bit closer to game time,” Weekly continued. “We talk a little bit about some adjustments we want to make, maybe some things we want to refocus on, that we hadn’t done well to that point that we want to do better.”
After about an hour delay, the tarp came up and teams were back on the field to pick up where they left off in the bottom of the second.
The Lady Vols couldn’t get anything going immediately after returning from the delay, but were able to get on the board in the second after a two-run RBI single from Cailin Hannon to drive in Kiki Milloy and Chelsea Seggern.
The team was able to make some crucial adjustments that lead to capitalizing on offense.
“After the first couple of innings I thought we did a better job of capitalizing,” Weekly said. “We talked about doing better in leading off innings and we lead off the first inning with a triple, and lead off the second with a double and nothing to show for it.
Later on in the fourth inning, Seggern hit a two-run RBI double to drive in Amanda Ayala and Kaitlin Parsons. Seggern was 2-2 batting on the day with two RBI’s.
The scoring in the fourth didn’t stop there for Tennessee, as the team added another run after Hannon was walked with the bases loaded, and Ivy Davis scored, putting the Lady Vols up 5-0.
“We really focused on plating runners and capitalizing on getting runners in,” Weekly said.
The frustrations continued for Central Michigan, as another walk got Madison Webber on base and advanced Anna Fox home to put Tennessee up 6-0.
The Lady Vols defense once again held Central Michigan scoreless in the fifth, and then started adding insurance.
Davis grounded out to start the bottom of the fifth, but was able to drive in Parsons to put the Lady Vols up 7-0. Shortly after, Ally Shipman homered to left field for a two-run shot that brought her and Seggern in, and Tennessee was able to end the game early, 9-0.
Although the team had a great day hitting the ball, Weekly was impressed with the amount of walks the team was able to get.
“I thought we had some good selective at bats,” Weekly said. “I really liked when we drew a couple walks to get RBIs. I always love the hits, but I think it’s really important when we can go up there and be really selfish with our pitch selection.”
Tennessee will see Central Michigan again tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. ET, and then will take on Northern Kentucky at 12 p.m. ET.
The forecast predicts rain tomorrow, but Shipman believes the team’s experience with Knoxville’s spotty weather has prepared them well.
“It’s definitely a little bit of a challenge,” Shipman said. “But I know for me and a lot of the older girls we’ve definitely done this many times with the weather out here in Knoxville, so we’re prepared for it.”
