The Lady Vols continue to maximize reps as they gear up for the new year.
Emma Clarke stole the show late with a titanic two-run blast to punctuate Tennessee’s 18-0 win over Tennessee Tech.
Sophia Knight, who transferred from Boise State this offseason, led off the game with a walk and promptly stole second. Freshman Elsa Morrison wasted little time and drove her in with a knock through the middle to open the scoring for Tennessee. The Lady Vols batted around in the first inning, with Knight delivering an RBI single in her second at-bat of the opening frame.
“She’s a sparkplug at the top of the order,” head coach Karen Weekly said. “She’s got so many tools in her tool belt, and when she gets on, a single can be a double.”
Makenzie Butt, who joined her teammate Knight from Boise State in the transfer portal this offseason, hammered an eighth-inning home run that landed at the very top of the batter’s eye in left center field. Not to be outdone, Clarke decked a titanic home run over the scoreboard in the ninth for a two-run blast.
“Emma can do that more than once, she’s got a really powerful swing,” Weekly said. “Just need to get her swinging all in every time she goes.”
The Cleveland, North Carolina, product’s power stroke carried some sentimental value.
“I was super happy, super thankful,” Clarke said. “This was actually my first home run that my parents were here to see, so that’s what was going through my mind.”
The pitching staff delivered another strong performance, Maddi Rutan retiring nine consecutive batters in her three quality innings of work. Of the nine hitters she faced, she threw a first-pitch strike to eight while striking out four.
“She attacked the strike zone,” Weekly said. “He was filling it up and getting us off the field really quick.”
Further, her defensive work at third base was impressive, ending the top of the 10th inning with a diving catch behind the bag to end a strong day in the field.
“I thought she played awesome defensively,” Weekly said. “I thought she did a really good job with her pitch selection, and made some tremendous plays at third to break momentum.”
Erin Nuwer followed with four shutout innings, striking out four and allowing just three base runners. Nuwer displayed a strong fastball and breaking ball combination to work through her outing, and she impressively handled her position defensively with a pair of putouts. Freshman Kailey Plumlee cleaned up the last three innings, working around some defensive miscues in the seventh to deliver her second scoreless appearance of the week.
Tennessee softball defeats Tennessee Tech: Post-game observations
While catcher Morrison delivered another strong day at the plate with a home run and two RBIs, she also handled Nuwer’s outing for the second game this week. This could be a battery combination to look for come spring.
The Lady Vols were highly aggressive on the basepaths all afternoon. It did come back to bite them on a couple of occasions, with runners getting thrown out at second or third. Otherwise, they utilized an aggressive style of baserunning that Weekly claims she wants to see.
Rutan had a quiet day at the plate, but she drew a pair of walks and recorded a hit. She swiped second base twice, showing strong baserunning smarts.
The Lady Vols will bring an official end to their fall schedule with an intrasquad game on Oct. 30. The outing will be followed by a session where they will sign autographs for fans who attend the scrimmage.
