KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 5 Tennessee topped No. 8 LSU, 3-0, in a top-ten matchup on Friday night at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium, setting the stage for a competitive conference series.
Both teams went scoreless in the first three innings, but the Lady Vols clicked at the plate in the fourth inning. Taylor Pannell reached on a fielder's choice error, scoring Riley West for Tennesseee's first run of the night.
The Tigers kept making mistakes in the same inning, and Tennessee continued to capitalize on the in-field errors. Destiney Rodriquez plated Sophia Nugent off another fielding error, and Kiki Milloy singled in the same inning to snatch another run, making the score 3-0.
The story of the game was the combined pitching performance of Payton Gottshall and Karlyn Pickens. Gottshall got the start and pitched 6.1 innings, striking out three batters and only allowing two LSU hits.
Her near-perfect pitching performance was stopped by two LSU singles in the 7th inning. After those swings, Pickens took the mound and struck out the only two batters she faced. She earned her first save of the season, helping the Lady Vols earn their 16th shutout of the year.
Game two of the series starts on Saturday inside Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. The first pitch is set to leave the mound at noon.
