Lady Vols bats come alive in 12-3 win over JMU

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (UT Athletics) — The 10th seeded Tennessee Lady Vols continued their hot start to the NCAA Championships by defeating James Madison 12-3 on Saturday at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.

With the win, the Lady Vols (47-12) move to 2-0 in the Knoxville Regional. After taking a 6-3 lead into the fifth inning, UT scored three runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth to claim the victory by run-rule.

Caylan Arnold improved to 25-4 on the season with the winning decision. Arnold went a full six innings for UT, striking out seven batters while yielding three runs.

James Madison (43-13) scored the game’s first run in the top of the second, as Natalie Cutright belted a solo home run just inside the right field foul pole to make it 1-0 in favor of the Dukes.

Tennessee would answer right back in the bottom half thanks to a two-run shot from McSwain over the center field wall. The blast brought Ashley Morgan around from first after she led off the frame with a single.

The Lady Vols recorded three more runs in the third inning to make it 5-1. CJ McClain led things off with a base knock to right field, and advanced all the way to third as Aubrey Leach followed up with a single through the right side of her own. Leach then took off for second, allowing McClain to score from third on a perfectly executed double-steal. Chelsea Seggern stepped in next and hit a two-run homer to right field that increased the UT lead to four.

The Dukes would get two runs back in the top of the fourth, with the first coming on a leadoff shot from Kate Gordon. Tennessee answered again in the bottom half via an Abby Lockman solo home run.

Tennessee got a rally going in the fifth that resulted in three more runs as the Lady Vols began to pull away. Leach led off with a hard-hit double off the left field wall, and later advanced to third on a wild pitch. Gregg brought her home on a single through the right side to make it 7-3. Treasury Poindexter came in to pinch run for Gregg on first, and when Morgan hit a single two batters later, Poindexter sprinted around second to set up runners on the corners. A McSwain groundout allowed Poindexter to come home for another Tennessee run, and Ayala singled two batters later to drive in pinch runner Sheridan Allen.

In the sixth, a triple from McClain put the Lady Vols in good position to close out the game, and they were able to do just that, as a single from Leach brought in McClain before Gregg belted her 18th home run of the season to make it 12-3 Tennessee.

UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will wait for the results of the next two games to determine who their next opponent is. Ohio and Monmouth, who both lost their Friday matchups, play each other at 2:39 p.m., and the winner will face James Madison on Saturday night for the right to take on Tennessee on Sunday.