The Lady Vols took charge of the game from the first inning on their way to a 12-3 victory over Charleston Southern at Lee Stadium in the first game of the NCAA Regionals for both teams.
Annie Aldrete and Haley Tobler both blasted home runs as part of an eight run first inning that set the tone for the rest of the game for Tennessee.
The freshman, Aldrete, opened the scoring in her first ever at-bat in an NCAA Tournament game with a three run homer to left field. She finished the game 2-3 with six RBIs.
“It was pretty cool,” Aldrete said. “I was a little nervous because they love to walk Maddie Shipman. All the pressure is kind of put on me, but I’m glad I could get in that position and get the job done.”
Shipman, the senior SEC Player of the Year, did not record an at-bat on the night, but was walked four times and ended up with 2 RBIs and one run scored.
Charleston Southern walked a total of 11 UT batters, which head coach Shane Winkler was most displeased with.
“We had 11 walks today, but we weren’t trying to walk anybody,” Winkler said. “We went into it knowing that we can’t let Shipman beat us. She’s one of the best hitters in the nation, if not the best.”
In the circle for Tennessee, it was a different story.
Senior ace Ellen Renfroe threw three scoreless innings to start the game, but was replaced by sophomore Rainey Gaffin with the team already ahead 11-0.
Gaffin, who co-head coach Ralph Weekly had designated as the backup for this weekend, surrendered three unearned runs on three hits in less than one inning before being replaced by fellow sophomore Erin Gabriel with two outs in the fourth.
“I thought Erin Gabriel threw really well,” Weekly said. “She missed the entire fall recovering from surgery and she is just starting to come into shape. She’s starting to throw harder, and her changeup is really good, so that bodes well for the future.”
Gabriel sealed the win for the Lady Vols without giving up a hit in 1.1 innings of work, which Weekly said gives her “a really good chance” of being the backup from now on.
Tennessee will now advance to play Virginia Tech after the Hokies defeated Lipscomb 4-3 in the first game of the Knoxville Regional.
UT last played Virginia Tech in 2012 in the NCAA Regionals, defeating them twice to earn a trip to the Super Regionals.
“Virginia Tech is a very good team,” Weekly said. “I watched them today. They hit the ball really well. They have two pitchers that can throw really well. They’re a challenge for us. They’re always a challenge for us.”
The winner of that game will move on to the Regional final while the loser must play again on Saturday and win twice on Sunday to advance to the Super Regional.
The game between the Lady Vols and the Hokies will take place Saturday at 2 p.m at Lee Stadium.
