JOHNSON CITY — The University of Tennessee softball team saw its roller coaster ride of a season continue on Sunday as it split a pair of games at the Buccaneer Classic.
The Lady Vols opened tournament play with a 4-3 walkoff loss to host East Tennessee State.
Tennessee fell behind 3-0 in the bottom of the first before rallying to tie the contest, 3-3. Ally Shipman hit a two-run homer and KK McCrary also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
The Buccaneers won the game in the bottom of the seventh when Julia Fritz singled to plate Lauren Lee.
The loss ended Tennessee’s 100-game win streak over in-state opponents and is the first program loss to East Tennessee State.
The Lady Vols found their way back into the win column later Sunday when they toppled Bowling Green, 9-3.
Again, Tennessee (9-7) fell behind as the Falcons scored first in the bottom of the opening frame.
But the Lady Vols roared back and scored four runs in the top of the second, an inning highlighted by a two-run single from Madison Webber and an RBI hit from Chelsea Seggern.
Tennessee never surrendered the upper hand as it scored a pair of runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth before closing out the scoring with a run in the top of the seventh.
Webber went 1-for-3 with a stolen base. Seggern was 2-for-3 with a run and stolen base, while driving in two runs.
Kiki Milloy had two hits, two runs and a stolen base while Amanda Ayala went 1-for-4 with an RBI, a stolen base and a run.
In the circle, the Lady Vols got a solid effort from Samantha Bender, who tossed a complete game, surrendering three runs (all earned), three hits and a walk. She had three strikeouts in the contest at Betty Basler Field.
Weather was a factor in the tournament as poor field conditions (due to Friday’s snow in the area) canceled Saturday’s games.
The Lady Vols also had Monday’s game against Tennessee Tech suspended due to rain. Tennessee had a 2-0 lead when the game was called in the second inning. The game will be resumed on a date to be determined.