KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – It came down to a last at-bat but unfortunately for the Noles it wasn't there's. Tennessee recovered from a 2-0 deficit to come back to beat FSU 3-2 to win game one of the Super Regional. Scoring one run each in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, No. 8 Tennessee (46-14) defeated No. 9 Florida State (48-13) by a score of 3-2.
UT’s Meghan Gregg hit a walk-off RBI single in the seventh inning to score Lexi Overstreet and give the Volunteers a 1-0 advantage in the series and put Tennessee one game away from the 2015 Women’s College World Series.
“Outstanding game, but we just ended up on the wrong side of it,” said FSU head coach Lonni Alameda. “Tennessee continues to find a way to make plays and get wins. They are an excellent ball club and extremely competitive. Jessica did a great job for us in the circle and we just need to go back and get ready for two games tomorrow.”
Florida State opened the scoring in the second inning as Ellie Cooper was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame. Bailey Schinella followed with a single to right off Tennessee starter Erin Gabriel. Victoria Daddis stepped in later in the inning and hit an RBI double down the left field line to score Cooper and give Florida State a 1-0 lead.
Jessica Warren made it 2-0 in the third inning, blasting her 17th home run of the season over the wall in right field on the first pitch of her at bat. Tennessee made a pitching change to bring Cheyanne Tarango, ending the day for Gabriel as she tossed 2.1 innings and gave up two runs on three hits with one walk and zero strikeouts.
Florida State starting pitcher Jessica Burroughs faced the minimum through the first 2.1 innings, allowing a single to Overstreet in the first inning but ending the inning with a double play. Tennessee managed two baserunners in the third on an FSU fielding error and another single by Overstreet, but two strikeouts from Burroughs and a fly out to center ended the inning.
The Seminoles got two runners on base in the top of the fifth on back-to-back singles by Maddie O’Brien and Warren. Tennessee made another pitching change to bring in starting right fielder, Rainey Gaffin. UT’s Tarango allowed two hits and one walk in 2.0 shutout innings of relief. Gaffin ended the inning with a pair of groundouts.
Tennessee scored one run in the fifth inning as Gretchen Aucoin led off with a single to left and ended up on third after a walk and a fielder’s choice. Aucoin scored on a wild pitch by Burroughs to cut the lead to 2-1 Florida State. The Volunteers loaded the bases with two outs later in the inning on a walk and a hit-by-pitch, but Burroughs got out of the jam by inducing a pop out to second from UT’s Meghan Gregg.
The Volunteers tied the game in the sixth with a pair of two-out singles and a walk. Shaliyah Geathers’ single to center knotted the game at 2-2, but her aggressive baserunning ended the inning as she was thrown out at second base on a relay by Morgan Klaevemann, Alex Powers and O’Brien.
UT’s Gaffin shut down the Seminole offense, retiring all eight batters she faced with three strikeouts to allow Tennessee to come back and allow the Volunteers to win it in the bottom of the seventh. Gaffin moved to 16-3 on the season, throwing 33 pitches in 2.2 innings.
Burroughs (18-6) took the loss, giving up three runs, two earned on six hits with four walks and two strikeouts. She had won her last nine consecutive decisions and this was her first loss since March 25.
Klaevemann went 0-for-4 from the plate to end her hitting streak at 26 games. It is the second-longest hitting streak in Florida State history, trailing Natasha Jacob’s 28-game streak from April 4, 2005 to February 14, 2006. Klaevemann’s streak tied for the 24th longest streak in NCAA history and is also the second longest in ACC history.
The best-of-three NCAA Knoxville Super Regional will conclude on Friday, May 22. The first game of the day will start at 4:00 p.m. on ESPNU with Florida State as the home team, and if Tennessee wins that game they will advance to the 2015 Women’s College World Series. If Florida State wins Friday’s first game, there will be another game at 7:00 p.m., airing on ESPN2, with the winner of that game securing a spot in the WCWS.
***FSU Athletics
