CLEARWATER, Fla. — Tennessee softball began the season with a bang on Friday night with a season-opening blowout win against Howard in their first game of the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Fla. The Lady Vols closed out the two-game slate with a win over Illinois to sweep the day.
The Lady Vols dominated Howard 21-1 in a five-inning mercy-rule win to start their season. Payton Gottshall made her Tennessee pitching debut in the victory. The transfer tossed three perfect innings with six strikeouts in a stellar effort.
Zaida Puni played a large role in a huge offensive effort from Tennessee. The junior infielder went 3-for-4 at the dish with two home runs and a whopping eight RBIs in the win.
The Lady Vols found some offense late in the second leg of the doubleheader to race past Illinois, 9-2.
Tennessee plated five insurance runs in the sixth inning to topple the Illini behind McKenna Gibson's three-RBI home run. The Lady Vols trailed 2-0 in the top of the fourth, but immediately knotted things up at the bottom of the inning and ran away with its second win of the day.
The NFCA Leadoff Classic continues on Saturday, where the Lady Vols will face South Alabama at 4:30 p.m. before battling top-10 Texas at 6:30 p.m.
