By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- After seeing its doubleheader against No. 21 Tennessee canceled with the Lady Vols going through COVID protocols, Tennessee Tech and Tennessee agreed to schedule a single game on Monday afternoon, first pitch scheduled for a 5 p.m. start.
Tennessee has been no stranger to the Ohio Valley Conference this season, sweeping Eastern Kentucky 10-0 in five innings and 3-2, Southeast Missouri 7-0 and 5-3 and UT Martin 10-1 in five innings. In addition to Tuesday's doubleheader against Tech, the Lady Vols also have a twinbill scheduled against Tennessee State on April 14. Their game against Austin Peay on March 10 was canceled.
UT currently has a 28-6 overall record – 4-5 in the Southeastern Conference, 24-1 outside of the league.
It comes to no surprise that the Lady Vols can hit. Nine batters are over .300 at the plate. Nine batters have double-digit RBI totals. They have a team total of 48 home runs and have stolen 67 bases in 72 attempts.
In the runs scored and RBI categories, the difference between them and their opponents is staggering. Tennessee has scored 220 runs and collected 198 RBI. Their opponents? Sixty-nine runs scored and 61 RBI. The Lady Vols are batting .337 as a team, opponents .164 against them.
But in their past experience against Tennessee, that doesn't surprise the Golden Eagles. Over the years, Tech has seen Monica Abbott in the circle, current assistant coach Megan Rhodes Smith pitched against the Golden Eagles in the 2006 NCAA Regional. They know they're going to see some of the best pitching they'll face all season.
In 21 previous meetings against the Lady Vols, Tech has yet to claim a victory. However, 11 of those games have been decided by four runs or less. Twice – in 2005 in Cookeville and 2008 in Knoxville – it was decided by a 1-0 decision.
Kiki Milloy is a one-woman wrecking crew for Tennessee this season, leading the team in runs driven in (27), runs scored (37), home runs (11) and stolen bases (24). But it's not just her – Amanda Ayala has 26 RBI and a team-best 42 hits and 79 total bases. Ivy Davis has 10 home runs. Rylie West has a squad-best .407 batting average.
Needless to say, they're going to make the opposing battery work.
The matchup doesn't get any easier in the circle. Ashley Rogers, in 107 innings of work, has 170 strikeouts and 23 walks with opponents hitting .108 against her. She has five shutouts, 13 complete games and 16 starts in 21 appearances, posting a 1.05 ERA and a 16-4 record.
The Tennessee pitching staff as a whole has a 1.69 ERA, 225 strikeouts and a .164 opposing batting average.
Callie Turner (6-1, 1.94 ERA), Bailey McCachren (5-0, 2.47 ERA), Samantha Bender (1-1, 2.58 ERA) and Anna Hazelwood (0-0, 4.20 ERA) all could see action during Tuesday's twinbill.
