No. 4 national seed Tennessee (45-8, 19-5 SEC) defeated Northern Kentucky (23-31, 13-9 Horizon League), 12-0 in five innings, Friday in the first round of the Knoxville softball regional at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
Payton Gottshall pitched a complete-game no-hitter in five innings, recording nine strikeouts, while allowing two walks.
Offensively, the Lady Vols recorded 10 hits, including two home runs, two doubles and two triples.
Tennessee took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a home run by Zaida Puni, who was 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs.
Tennessee extended its advantage to, 7-0, with six runs in the third inning. Jamison Brokenbrough hit a three-run triple. Katie Taylor had an RBI double and McKenna Gibson drove in two runs with one double.
The Lady Vols scored five runs in the fourth inning as Brokenbrough hit a two-run single and Puni hit a three-run home run.
The Lady Vols will play Indiana Saturday at 1 p.m. EDT.
The Hoosiers (43-16, 18-5 Big 10) defeated Louisville, 4-3, Friday to advance in the winner’s bracket.