The No. 1 Lady Vols have had the pitching side of things figured out over the last few games, and as of Saturday night, they have allowed just five runs from their opponents to score this year.
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Tennessee softball had its biggest offensive game of the season, defeating Mercer 17-0 in five innings. The Lady Vols (13-0) have now won 13 consecutive games, while the Mercer Bears drop their fifth game of the season (8-5).
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Sophomore Erin Nuwer was called upon as the starter for Tennessee, and she delivered, posting four innings of one-hit softball, while tallying six strikeouts and walking just two batters. Nuwer has yet to allow a single run to plate this season over 24.0 innings pitched; she’s already almost halved her total innings pitched from her freshman season.
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Nuwer started the top of the first, forcing the first three Mercer batters to sit down, before turning it over to the Lady Vols offense. They started off the scoring in a rather unorthodox manner, stealing home twice, taking an early 2-0 lead.
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After Olivia Lenze led off the second with a double, Nuwer held Mercer scoreless again. In the bottom of the second, Makenzie Butt singled to drive in Alannah Leach for the first run of the inning, making it 3-0.
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Sophia Knight followed with a single up the middle, scoring Zoie Shuler for a 4-0 lead. Knight then scored on a fielder’s choice. Freshman Elsa Morrison capped the inning with a three-run home run, increasing the lead to 8-0. Nuwer kept things going with two more strikeouts in the third before shutting down the third out through a pop-up to short.
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Butt lifted a ball down the line, which marked the Lady Vols ninth run of the night and Butt’s fourth home run of the season. Gabby Leach muscled a single up the middle, scoring Bella Faw. The runs kept coming after a fielder’s choice on a double play, and a fielding error allowed the next two to score.
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After three innings, the Lady Vols led Mercer 12-0, needing just two more innings to close out the game.
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Nuwer faced the most traffic on the basepaths in the top of the fourth, a walk before the runner advanced from a wild pitch. She once again settled in and allowed no runs to cross, leaving a runner on base.
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Saviya Morgan hit a single to left field that scored the next two runs, followed by Leach, who doubled up the middle to score two more. Two quick swings added four more runs, before Taelyn Holley added the exclamation point with a double that scored run 17.
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The team closes out the UAB Green and Gold classic against Southern Illinois on Sunday, looking to make it 14 wins in a row.