2013 SEASON REVIEW
LADY VOLS OPPONENTS 2013 REVIEW HISTORY & RECOCRDS
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Tennessee took two out of three against-then No. Alabama in the start of its SEC schedule from May 8-10. UT took a dramatic 4-3 win in the first game when Madison Shipman hit the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the seventh. Tennessee has beaten a No. 1-ranked Alabama team in three straight years (2011, 2012, 2013). Ivy Renfroe went 2-0 on the week with a .68 ERA and eight strikeouts over 10.1 frames to sweep both the Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week and USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week, becoming just the fifth Lady Vol to win both major weekly awards in the same week. The Lady Vols enjoyed SEC series sweeps against then-No. 4 Texas A&M (March 22-24), Georgia (April 5-7), Auburn (April 12-14) and Ole Miss (April 19-21). Chavanne was named the USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week for the second time in her career on March 26 after she hit .750 with five RBIs, one homer, one double, six runs, three walks and three stolen bases as UT went 4-0 against then-No. 4 Texas A&M and Murray State. UT’s 9-2 road win over Georgia on April 6 marked Ralph Weekly’s 1,100th win as a head coach. He was just the 14th head coach to achieve 1,100 wins. On April 7, Tennessee took a 6-1 win over the Bulldogs, marking its 600th win under the direction of the Weeklys. On April 20, Gibson had a performance for the ages, going 4-for-5 with three home runs, one double, nine RBIs and four runs scored. She is the only Lady Vol to ever hit three home runs in one game and her nine RBIs tied a school record set by Dotson in 2011. Gibson was named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week after hitting .818 (9-for-11) with five homers, three doubles, 18 RBIs, eight runs and three walks over the course of four wins against Appalachian State and Ole Miss. It was the first national weekly honor in Gibson’s storied career.
2014 PREVIEW
Two weeks later, Gibson hit two home runs in a 12-8 (6) loss to Missouri, giving her 17 on the season at the time and breaking the previous Tennessee single-season record of 16 previously held by Tonya Callahan (2008) and Jessica Spigner (2011). The Lady Vols had arguably their strongest run through the NCAA Tournament in team history going 8-0 through the NCAA Tournament and WCWS to reach the Championship Series. UT stormed through the Knoxville Regional with a 9-0 (5) win over Longwood, a marathon 11-inning 1-0 win over NC State and another 7-0 win over the Wolfpack. Tennessee took 3-2 and 5-3 wins over Alabama in the Knoxville Super Regional to punch its sixth ticket to the Women’s College World Series. Tennessee shined at the Women’s College World Series, giving fans five exciting games and reaching the Championship Series. In Game 2 on May 30, UT took a 9-2 win over Florida thanks to some early scoring, a 3-for-4 effort by Dotson and a nine-strikeout gem by Ellen Renfroe. Tennessee edged Washington, 1-0, in Game 5 when Whitney Hammond’s smart base running put the winning run on third and Tory Lewis knocked the gamewinning RBI single in the bottom of the seventh. Ellen Renfroe fired a 10-strikeout, two-hit shutout to shut down UW. In Game 11, Gibson hit a two-run homer and Lexi Overstreet drew a bases-loaded walk to back a strong pitching effort by Ivy Renfroe and Ellen Renfroe as the Lady Vols edged Texas, 2-1. The first game of the Championship Series had everyone on the edge of their seats as the Lady Vols and Oklahoma clashed for a 12-inning pitcher’s duel. At 12 innings, the game was the longest in Tennessee history. Madison Shipman’s three-run homer to center field in the top of the 11th gave UT a 3-0 lead, but OU would score five runs in the next two innings to take the win. Ellen Renfroe was outstanding in the circle, striking out 13 batters in 11 innings to keep a potent Oklahoma lineup off the scoreboard for 10 innings. Tennessee’s amazing 2013 season came to a close in Game 2 of the Championship Series when Oklahoma took a 4-0 win to capture the national title. Gibson, Ellen Renfroe and Shipman were all named to the WCWS AllTournament Team. The Lady Vols graduate an outstanding senior class in Melissa Brown, Raven Chavanne, Kat Dotson, Lauren Gibson, Whitney Hammond and Ivy Renfroe, but will return a very strong core of players to make another run in 2014.
GENERAL
The Lady Vols’ opened the year with a bang, scoring 18 runs on 22 hits in the season opener to take an 18-3 win over Southern Utah in the Red Desert Classic. The win also marked Tennessee’s 800th program victory. The next day, Ellen Renfroe threw the second no-hitter of her career, fanning five batters over in a 10-0, five-inning win over Utah State. On Feb. 21, the Lady Vols shut down Long Beach State, 7-0, in Karen Weekly’s 800th career win as a head coach. Tennessee started the season 12-0 before a loss to Northwestern on Feb. 22.
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