Arnold dominates in relief, Vols sweep N.C. State

Tennessee’s offense came through once again to lead the Vols to a 6-1 win on Sunday and a series sweep of the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Sherri Lee Parker Stadium. The Vols’ offense was slow out of the gate, but steadily increased its potency throughout the game.

Tennessee (31-5, 6-3 SEC) started Kelsey Morrison at the mound for the second time this week, but the sophomore wasn’t as successful as she was on Tuesday. Morrison issued a walk and allowed two hits and a run in just one inning of work.

At the top of the second inning, freshman Caylan Arnold took command in the circle and the Vols never looked back. Arnold came through for the Vols, commanding the plate with quality pitch placement and mixing in her off-speed pitches.

The freshman recorded five strikeouts and only allowed three hits in her six innings of work. Tennessee’s defense was strong behind her, keeping things clean and avoiding errors.

Tennessee’s offense picked in the fourth inning after CJ McCLain singled and advanced to second on an error, scoring Chelsea Seggern to put the Vols up 2-1. McClain then stole third base, setting up an RBI single from Aubrey Leach to bump the lead to 3-1.

The fifth inning proved to be just as productive for the Vols. Megan Geer opened the scoring with a two-run home run, her fifth of the season. Katie Weimer was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a walk and then advanced to third on a groundout. That set up McClain, whose infield single scored Weimer to push the lead to the final advantage of 6-1.

Tennessee’s next game will be against Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday in Knoxville. Game time is 6 p.m.

Edited by Nathan Odom

Featured image by Brad Blackwelder