University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
South Carolina
Vols Knock Off South Carolina to Advance in SEC Tournament
May 12, 2016 | Softball
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STARKVILLE, Miss. -- No. 3 seed Tennessee kicked off its 2016 SEC Tournament run with a 5-1 victory over No. 11 seed South Carolina in Thursday's quarterfinals at Nusz Park in Starkville, Miss.
The ninth ranked Volunteers (41-13) received solid performances in the circle from Erin Gabriel and Matty Moss, who combined to give up just one run and four hits in the game. Gabriel got the start and was credited with her 19th win of the year after striking out three in four innings of work. Moss, one of three Tennessee players to be named to the SEC All-Freshman team, was perfect over the final three innings to earn her first-career save.
The duo of Megan Geer and Meghan Gregg set the tone offensively for UT, posting three hits, two runs and three RBIs between them. It was Geer's two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning that ended up being the game-winning hit. The junior from Los Alamitos, Calif., now has four game-winning home runs this season.
With the win, Tennessee improved to 26-20 all-time in SEC Tournament games, which ranks third best among current members of the conference.
The Vols wasted little time getting things started as Geer blasted her 10th home run of the year to give UT an early lead. Gregg reached base with a two-out single before Geer went opposite field for her 29th career homer, moving her into a tie for sixth on the Tennessee all-time list.
The Gamecocks (36-21) responded immediately, cutting the lead in half in the top of the second. A leadoff double by Ansley Ard got the inning started, and Kamryn Watts drove her in with a two-out single through the right side of the infield to make it a 2-1 game.
It didn't take long for the Vols to get back on the board, however, as Shaliyah Geathers came up with a big hit to increase the UT lead in the home half of the second. The junior singled to right field with runners on second and third to bring in two runs. Savannah Huffstetler and Gretchen Aucoin both scored on the play to increase the Tennessee lead to 4-1.
The Big Orange added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth thanks to an RBI groundout from Gregg. Geathers led off the inning with her second single of the game and ended up scoring two batters later to give the Vols a four-run cushion heading into the final inning.
Moss took over from there, setting the Gamecocks down in order for the third straight inning to end the game. The freshman from Greenville, S.C., struck out two batters and needed just 28 pitchers to retire the nine batters she faced.
Tennessee will take on the winner of today's game between No. 2 seed Kentucky and No. 7 seed LSU in tomorrow's first semifinal game. The game is set for a 3 p.m. ET start on ESPNU. As always, fans can also listen to Brian Rice's radio call on WNML (FM 99.1/AM 990).
