KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Two big blasts made all the difference in Tennessee's loss to third-ranked Virginia Tech on Wednesday night.
The Hokies hit a pair of two-run home runs five innings apart to down the Lady Vols 5-2 at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. Bre Peck's first-inning bomb put VT up 3-0, and Jayme Bailey left the yard in the sixth to pad the lead at 5-2.
No. 14 Tennessee had a productive hitting day, with Kiki Milloy, Amanda Ayala and Rylie West all recording multiple-hit games. The Lady Vols had trouble bringing runners in and left 10 players on base in the losing effort.
"This is the kind of game you're going to play in the postseason," Tennessee softball head coach Karen Weekly said. "Championship softball comes down to getting the timely hits and making the timely pitches, and tonight Virginia Tech did that."
Virginia Tech improved to 33-6 this season, while the Lady Vols fell to 30-13.
Next up, Tennessee hosts the Lady Vol challenge on Saturday, April 23. UT will play a double-header that begins with East Carolina at 1:30 p.m. The Lady Vols will then play UNC Greensboro for the second leg of the twin-bill set for 4 p.m.
