University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Arkansas
Lady Vols Come Up Short at Arkansas in Game One, 2-1
April 28, 2000 | Softball
Tennessee started its pivotal Southeastern Conference road swing on the wrong foot on Friday afternoon with a 2-1 setback to Arkansas in Fayetteville. UA hurler Rachel Talley limited the Orange to just five hits in picking up the win, while senior Jackie Beavers pitched well but was saddled with another gut-wrenching defeat. With the one-run setback, Jim Beitia's club falls back to .500 overall at 27-27 and is now 5-15 in league play, while the Lady'Backs improve to 33-27 and 12-11 in SEC activity. Game two of the doubleheader will be contested at 6:55 p.m. CT.
The Lady Vols jumped on the board in the first frame on an RBI double into left center field by junior Janette Koshell off Talley. The one-out two-bagger enabled junior Maura Mollet, who had reached on a fielder's choice, to score from first base. The double was Koshell's team-best 17th of the season.
Arkansas notched the equalizer in the fourth inning on Kim Eiben's base-hit into left that drove in pinch runner Kirsten Henry. The hosts started the stanza with an infield single by Dana Gulick and a flare into right by Jen Cirigliano. Following a sacrifice bunt from Erin Stokey that pushed the runners over to second and third with none out, Danica Howlett dug in to face Beavers. The UA sophomore rolled a grounder to Lady Vol second baseman Melissa Radley, who delivered a perfect strike to Mollet to nail Gulick at the plate for the second out. With runners on the corners, Eiben punched a hit to knot the game at 1-1.
The home team would forge ahead the following inning on another clutch hit, as Gulick poked a single with to drive in pinch runner Katy Skaife from third base with two down. Talley helped her own cause with a leadoff double to the gap in right center before being replaced by Skaife. Beavers would go on to retire the next two hitters before Gulick's RBI hit.
Tennessee had a golden opportunity in the seventh to either tie the game or seize the advantage, but senior Nadia Cameron's grounder with the sacks full and two down was fielded for the final out for Arkansas. Beavers allowed seven hits in seeing her mark slip to 14-15, while Talley evened her total at 10-10 with five strikeouts and the unearned run.
