By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Tech softball team (19-28, 10-11 OVC) will head down I-40 on Wednesday to take on in-state opponent and No. 13 University of Tennessee (35-12, 12-6 SEC) in a 5 p.m. contest at the Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
The Lady Vols have a rich softball history, recently making their seventh trip in school history to the College World Series in the 2015 season. Tennessee has also had great success versus in-state opponents, most recently defeating Lipscomb, 10-2, to capture its 87th straight win over an in-state team.
A Southeastern Conference (SEC) affiliate, the Lady Vols continue their success into the 2016 season, currently holding a 12-6 conference record and a 35-12 overall mark, while being ranked 13th in the nation. Tennessee is currently led by sophomore infielder Meghan Gregg. On the season, Gregg holds a .385 batting average to lead the Lady Vols, while accumulating a .622 slugging percentage. She has tallied an impressive 48 RBI, six homeruns, and 14 doubles on the season, while successfully completing 12-of her-14 stolen base attempts. Another key power hitter on the Tennessee lineup is junior Megan Greer. Greer holds the third best batting average on the Lady Vol squad (.371), while maintaining the second best slugging percentage (.636). On the season, she has posted 45 RBI, eight homeruns, one triple, and nine doubles. The quick-footed junior also holds a perfect 23-for-23 on stolen bases to lead Tennessee.
Freshman pitcher, Matty Moss currently leads the Lady Vols with a 1.52 ERA. Thus far this season, Moss has accumulated a 9-3 record from the circle, including two complete games and two shutouts. Over her 77.1 innings pitched, Moss has tallied 64 strikeouts while walking just 14. Senior, right-hander Erin Gabriel serves as Tennessee's main arm in the circle. Gabriel has seen action in 116.0 innings thus far this season, capturing a 17-5 record and a 2.59 ERA. She has thrown seven complete games including two shutouts and successfully notched one save on the season. On the year, Gabriel has retired 148 batters at the plate while walking just 27.
The Golden Eagles travel to Knoxville after a successful week going 3-2 in their matchups. Sophomore Callen Griffin had a particularly stellar week at the dish notching a .643 batting average and a .786 slugging percentage, while recording hits on nine of her 14 at-bats. On the season, Griffin maintains a .281 batting average and has tallied 12 RBI, one homerun, and three doubles. Leading the Golden Eagles this season is senior Sabrie Neeb. Neeb holds a .304 batting average on the year with a .486 slugging percentage. She has notched 23 RBI, five homeruns, one triple, and eight doubles, while successfully stealing 3-of-5 stolen base attempts.
Southpaw Danielle Liberatore continues to serve as Tech's leader in the circle. Liberatore holds a 12-12 record on the season with a 3.28 ERA. Over her 134.1 innings pitched, Liberatore has retired 186 batters at the plate while walking just 65. She has seen action in 30 games, and thrown 13 complete games including four shutouts while notching two saves on the season.
The Lady Vols lead the series 19-0 over the Golden Eagles, most recently seeing victory in the 2015 season, when Tennessee defeated Tech 6-1 on their home turf.
You can follow the Golden Eagles online on the TTU Sports Facebook page or on Twitter at @TTU_Softball and @TTUGoldenEagles.
