Lady Vols vs. Oregon State in Knoxville Regional final
Ashley Rogers has pitched 23 postseason innings for Tennessee this month.
Opponents are still trying to scratch and claw their way to a run.
The former Meigs County High School standout was dominant yet again Saturday afternoon in the Knoxville Regional of the NCAA softball tournament, allowing two hits while striking out eight in a complete-game gem as the Lady Volunteers blanked Oregon State 3-0. The 5-foot-10 senior pitched three hitless innings Friday night to wrap up a 9-1 run-rule rout of Campbell.
“Ashley threw 88 pitches and almost had a no-hitter,” Tennessee coach Karen Weekly said. “It was just a brilliant performance.”
Rogers, of course, was beyond brilliant in the Southeastern Conference tournament against Mississippi State on May 12, when she allowed three hits in 161 pitches during a 1-0 Tennessee triumph in 13 innings.
When asked about the latest Rogers performance, Oregon State coach Laura Berg said, “She was getting ahead, and there were times we just weren’t shortening up our swing. She was just putting the ball by us.”
Tennessee improved to 41-16 and will play Oregon State again Sunday afternoon at 2 for the Knoxville Regional title, with the Lady Vols needing one win for the crown and the Beavers needing two victories over the NCAA tourney’s No. 11 overall seed. Oregon State (35-20) stayed alive Saturday night by eliminating Ohio State 5-1.
Saturday’s victory over Oregon State allowed the Lady Vols to atone for a 5-2 loss to the Beavers on Feb. 25 at the Mary Nutter Classic in Cathedral City, California.
“I definitely didn’t like how the first one went,” Rogers said. “We did not play well, and I did not pitch well. It wasn’t us, for sure, and I really think we showed them who Tennessee softball is today.”
Saturday’s game was scoreless until the fifth inning, when McKenna Gibson’s single off the leftfield wall scored pinch-runner Katie Taylor from second base to put Tennessee up 1-0. Anna Fox entered as a pinch-runner for Gibson and scored when Kiki Milloy launched a Mariah Mazon pitch over the scoreboard.
Mazon and Rogers entered the fifth pitching one-hitters.
“That’s championship softball,” Weekly said. “We had great pitching and defensive plays that made a difference and timely hitting. I’m really proud of our offense and the way we just hung in there and kept getting better with our at-bats.”