Tennessee’s Tory Lewis (7) drives in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning during an NCAA softball game in the Women’s College World Series between Washington and Tennessee at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Saturday, June 1, 2013. Tennessee won 1-0. (AP Photo/The Oklahoman, Nate Billings)
Tennessee’s Whitney Hammond celebrates during the second game of the NCAA Women’s College World Series softball tournament, against Florida on Thursday, May 30, 2013, in Oklahoma CityOKLAHOMA CITY – No. 9 hitter Tory Lewis singled up the middle to score pinch-runner Whitney Hammond with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, and Tennessee beat Washington 1-0 on Saturday in the winners bracket of the Women’s College World Series.
Both Lewis and Hammond are from Chattanooga and Girls Preparatory School.
“Our kids fought from the very beginning,” Tennessee co-coach Ralph Weekly said. “It’s all about timely hitting and it took us awhile to get that timely hit, but the kids never quit. They never got their heads down and they never stopped fighting.”
Ellen Renfroe (19-4) allowed two hits and struck out 10 for Tennessee, which tonight at 7 EDT will play Washington or Florida again. The Huskies will face the Gators, whom UT beat 9-2 on Thursday, at 1 p.m. EDT. Tennessee would have to lose tonight and again Monday to miss the best-of-three finals starting Monday or Tuesday night. Florida finally edged Nebraska 9-8 in 15 innings in their elimination game that ended about 12:25 this morning.
Tennessee (51-10) stranded 13 runners through six innings against Washington’s Kaitlin Inglesby (23-8), leaving the bases loaded three times. In the seventh, Cheyanne Tarango reached on an infield single and Hammond ran for her.