CALIFORNIA, USA — The Lady Vols concluded the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic similar to the way they started it. In Tennessee's final doubleheader of the classic, the team came out on top against the University of Hawaii, 10-2, but fell to UCLA, 6-2.
Against Hawaii, McKenna Gibson opened up the scoring with an RBI single, sending Kiki Milloy across the plate. Soon after, senior Riley West hit a three-run homer in the second inning to give the Lady Vols a 5-0 lead.
Tennessee added to its total in the bottom of the third inning when Zaida Puni smashed a solo home run, and Bella Faw and Milloy each had RBI base hits to make it an 8-0 game.
The Lady Vols wrapped up the run-rule victory in the sixth inning after Gibson hit an RBI single and Destiny Rodriguez drove in a run.
Against UCLA, Rodriguez hit a home run in the second inning to open up the scoring. The Bruins tied up the game with a solo shot of their own to tie it up in the bottom of the inning, 1-1.
Tennessee was down 4-1 at the top of the fourth when Sophia Nugent smashed a homerun to make it a 4-2 game.
However, the Bruins scored again in the fifth inning and Sharlize Palacios hit a second home run in the sixth inning to extend UCLA's lead, 6-2.
The Lady Vols will start their home slate against Brown on March 1. Game time for the first matchup of the Tennessee Classic starts at 5:30 p.m.
