Tennessee opened the 2022 Southeastern Conference tournament with a victory Thursday in Gainesville, Florida.
The third-seeded Lady Vols (39-15) defeated No. 11 Mississippi State (33-24), 1-0, in 13 innings at KSP Stadium.
Tennessee, which took two out of three games against the Bulldogs in the regular season, had Kiki Milloy and Lair Beautae both reach base to open the opening frame for the Lady Vols. Both were stranded in scoring position as Mississippi State starter Aspen Wesley retired the next three UT hitters.
The Lady Vols and Mississippi State were deadlocked in a scoreless tie until the bottom of the 13th inning when Beautae’s RBI single plated Rylie West with the game’s only run, netting a walk-off victory for the Lady Vols, who had 11 hits and stranded 14 runners in the contest.
Tennessee starter Ashley Rogers, who entered the season as the Lady Vols’ ace before missing time due to injury, pitched a complete game against the Bulldogs, yielding three hits and two walks.
Tennessee advances to face No. 7 Missouri at 3 p.m. EDT in Friday’s semifinals. The Tigers eliminated No. 2 Alabama, 3-2, in eight innings.
The game will be televised by ESPN2.
UT swept a two-game series from the Tigers (35-19) on March 13 in Columbia.
The first game in the conference opening series was canceled due to a snowstorm.
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