UT baseball, softball earn series sweeps

The Tennessee baseball team bounced back from an embarrassing 21-2 loss to James Madison last Wednesday by going on the road to sweep Cincinnati in a threegame series over the weekend.

Junior right-hander Will Neely pitched a complete game in 43-degree weather Sunday as the Volunteers won 2-1.

Tennessee (11-6) hosts Western Carolina this Wednesday before opening Southeastern Conference play Friday at Ole Miss.

Neely allowed five hits, struck out five batters, walked one and hit two others against Cincinnati (7-8). The Vols scored the winning run on a ninth-inning single from Justin Ammons, and their other run came on Wyatt Stapp’s fifth-inning single.

Tennessee opened the weekend with a 3-2 win over the Bearcats in 12 innings. Senior outfielder Brodie Leftridge delivered the winning hit in that game, while reliever Zach Linginfelter (1-1) picked up the win on the mound after a strong start from freshman left-hander Garrett Crochet.

Saturday’s game featured more offense than any other in the series as Tennessee won 7-5 behind another strong hitting performance from Leftridge, who had two RBIs.

Lady Vols rout Mizzou

The fourth-ranked Tennessee softball team improved to 24-1 with a weekend sweep of Missouri to begin SEC play. The Lady Volunteers outscored the Tigers 25-7 over the three games.

Senior leader and cleanup hitter Meghan Gregg began the weekend by lifting Tennessee to a 7-4 victory with a grand slam in the sixth inning. Gregg also homered in Sunday’s 11-3 victory.

The Lady Vols travel to Hawaii this week for six games in the Bank of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Classic.