With a six-run lead in the fifth inning and the bases loaded, Taelyn Holley stood prepared to end the game.
Tennessee softball took home a 13-5 victory on Wednesday evening, run-ruling Kennesaw State after Holley’s game-winning double. The No. 9 Lady Vols (34-6, 9-6 SEC) gave up four runs in the fifth frame but responded with four of their own in the bottom half to seal the win.
“It was just trusting my preparation,” Holley said. “Working with Craig (Snyder) the past couple of weeks, it’s been really difficult, but it was just going up there and trusting my process.”
Holley’s bat was on fire against the Owls (7-29, 3-12 CUSA), going 4-for-4 with nothing but doubles. She tallied four RBIs and scored two runs.
“She’s a really good hitter first of all,” head coach Karen Weekly said. “When hitters go in slumps, it’s just how you manage them. So much of it is just you put your head down and go to work and keep a positive mindset.”
Kennesaw State notched its first run on a wild pitch. Hannah Harvey managed a two-out double and advanced to third on a passed ball before racing home when a wild pitch bounced off the backstop.
In an early deficit, Gabby Leach led Tennessee off with a double down the right field line that bounced off first base and kept rolling as she reached second base. Ella Dodge brought her home three pitches later, sending her eighth home run of the year just over the center field wall.
Makenzie Butt hammered a double into left field and scored two at-bats later on a Holley double. Maddi Rutan walked, but Bella Faw popped out, stranding runners on the corners to cap the Lady Vols’ rally at three runs.
Erin Nuwer dealt with the Owls easily in the second, allowing a single to center before punching out the side.
Leach walked to open the bottom half and reached third thanks to some smart baserunning after Dodge singled to third base. Dodge stole second, and Emma Clarke legged out an infield hit to third that nearly saw Leach tagged out at home, but the throw wasn’t in time. The catcher fired the ball to second in hopes of nabbing Clarke while Dodge broke for the plate, generating a fifth Tennessee run.
Bella Faw extended the lead in the third. She singled up the middle to score Holley, who had doubled earlier in the frame. Faw advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Saviya Morgan bunt four pitches later. Morgan got tied up in a rundown after trying to take second, but she managed to beat the throw back to first with a slide.
Nuwer hit her first batter of the fourth, but a fielder’s choice and two strikeouts eliminated the threat. Meredith Barnhart, Holley and McCall Sims each doubled in the bottom half, driving in two runs to stretch the lead to 9-1.
As the sun set, Kennessaw State woke up.
Just three outs from a run-rule victory, Peyton Hardenburger took over in the circle. Despite allowing just seven hits in 10.2 innings all season, Hardenburger emerged shaky. A single on her first pitch foreshadowed a rough outing.
She walked the next batter, settled in to record two outs, but then allowed a single and two doubles to the next three batters. Tennessee’s lead stood at 9-5, and Nuwer came back out to finish the inning. She struck out the last batter for her ninth strikeout of the game.
The Lady Vols picked up right where they left off in the bottom half of the fifth.
Zoie Shuler executed a bunt for her first career hit to get things started. Dodge kept the small ball rolling, and a muffed throw by the first baseman allowed Shuler to score. The Owls turned to their fourth pitcher of the night, who walked her first batter and allowed Butt to reach on a fielding error to load the bases.
Barnhart grounded to third to score Dodge and push the lead to 11-5. Holley finished the job, smacking her fourth double of the night off the left field wall to plate the final two runs and trigger the run-rule.
“Just starting early,” Holley said. “We’ve been working, focused on my stride and my stance, being able to keep my shoulders square so I can get the barrel out.”
The Lady Vols finished the game with 14 hits, eight of which were doubles.
“A lot of those doubles we created by pushing the envelope and getting ourselves to second base,” Holley said. “When you get to second base, you take out the possibility of the double play. It just gives you so many more chances to score.”
The Lady Vols travel to Lexington to take on Kentucky for a three-game set beginning on April 11. The Wildcats are 24-19 this season, but 1-14 in SEC play.
