TAMPA — It was a day of mixed results for the University of Tennessee softball team Friday.
The Lady Vols (7-3) split a pair of contests on the first day of the Tampa Tournament.
Tennessee opened the three-day event by notching a 9-1 run-rule victory over Florida International University Friday morning. The game was decided in the bottom of the sixth inning when shortstop Chelsea Seggren had a walk-off RBI single.
Later in the day, the University of Central Florida Golden Knights turned the tables on Tennessee as they run-ruled the Lady Vols 10-1 in five innings.
That loss marked the first time that Tennessee lost to an unranked non-conference foe in 2018. Then, it was Florida Atlantic that knocked off the Lady Vols 3-2 in 2018 in a tournament in Clearwater, Fla.
Despite being unranked, the Golden Knights are 10-2. The two teams were set for a rematch at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
Against the Panthers, Seggin went 4-for-4 with two home runs, a double and two runs. She drove in a career-high seven runs batted in and is tied for sixth in RBIs in a single game.
Tennessee starting pitcher Samantha Bender surrendered one run, six hits and one walk in 4.2 innings. She finished her outings with three strikeouts against FIU, which dropped to 2-2 with the loss.