KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- There's a lot of reasons the Tennessee softball team is ranked in the Top 25 and the No. 18 Lady Vols, fresh off of a California swing in the Mary Nutter Classic showed it as the Tennessee Tech squad got to experience it first-hand on Wednesday.

 

Tennessee claimed an 11-1 run-rule victory in five innings over the Golden Eagles, knocking Tech down to a 9-6 record on the season.

 

Against the combined effort of UT ace Erin Edmoundson and Ryleigh White, the Golden Eagles were able to collect two hits as Abby Buettner and Sydney Dukes collected the two safeties. Edmoundson allowed one hit as she walked one and struck out four.

 

Alyssa Arden took the loss to see her season record fall to 4-4. The hurler allowed 11 runs on nine hits, walking one and striking out one. The Lady Vols were able to hit for power in the contest, collecting a double, a triple and four home runs as Amanda Ayala, Zaida Puni, Rylie West and Amanda Curran all went yard in their home opener.

 

Tech scored its lone run in the fourth inning. Following a pitching change to Ryleigh White, Carmen Betts reached on an error at short, then moved over to third on Buettner's single to left center. Dukes was hit by a pitch to load the bases, then as KaDedra Temple was erased on a swinging strike, the wild pitch on the play allowed Betts to score, but Buettner was tagged out at home on a 2-6-1 relay.

 

The Golden Eagles return to action this weekend as they travel to Johnson City to take on East Tennessee State in a three-game series. They'll play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at noon, then concluding the weekend with a single game on Sunday.