Last Monday, Meghan Gregg appeared on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays list with her outstanding catch in the top of the fourth that helped keep Georgia scoreless. The Lady Vols won the game, 1-0, clinching a sweep of the No. 7 ranked Bulldogs.
“It’s pretty cool to have something like that happen,” co-head coach Karen Weekly said. “We know we have to rely on defense. It’s a big part of what we do.”
Now, defense and pitching are crucial as Tennessee (26-7, 6-3 SEC) prepares for a road trip to Auburn to take on the No. 7 ranked Tigers.
The Lady Vols have enjoyed beating the Tigers (35-4, 8-1 SEC) over the past few years, as Tennessee has won nine straight against their SEC West foe. However, a new wind is blowing through Auburn with Clint Myers taking the helm as the Tigers’ coach last year. The Lady Vols have yet to face Myers during his time at Auburn, but the Bismarck, North Dakota native already has two championship rings from his time at Arizona State in 2008 and 2011.
Myers is already molding the Tigers into what could be a championship caliber team. Auburn is fourth in the nation in batting average and first in team home runs. Two of Auburn’s players, Emily Carosone and Jade Rhodes, have already hit 15 home runs each. Meanwhile, Tiffany Howard is fourth in the nation in individual batting average, even though Howard has zero home runs.
“They’re gonna get their hits, and we’ve gotta score with them,” Weekly said. “You’re not gonna shut out a team like Auburn, but, when the outs come your way, you need to make the outs and limit the big innings … We can win games (by) putting the ball in play, pitching to contact, and letting our defense make plays.”
The Lady Vols will be looking to put an end to Auburn’s, 20-0, home record this year when they make the trip. The first contest will be Thursday at 7 p.m., followed by an outing on Friday at 7 p.m. The series will conclude on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. The first two games will be broadcast on the SEC Network +, while the Saturday’s game will be on the main SEC Network channel.
After this weekend’s series, the Lady Vols will return home for a doubleheader on Tuesday against Eastern Kentucky beginning at 5 p.m.
