History repeated itself Friday night for the Tennessee softball team.
History of the unpleasant kind.
Facing Big Ten player of the year and Nebraska do-it-all talent Jordy Bahl was a tough enough challenge for the Lady Volunteers entering their Knoxville Super Regional opener inside Sherri Parker Lee Stadium, but they unraveled defensively in the fourth inning to make things easier for the Cornhuskers, who cruised to a 5-2 triumph.
Tennessee, the No. 7 overall seed in the 64-team field for the NCAA tournament, fell to 43-15 and will need to win Saturday’s contest (5 p.m. on ESPN) to keep its season alive.
“This is a two-out-of-three (series),” Lady Vols coach Karen Weekly said on the ESPN2 broadcast. “This is what we do in the SEC. We’ve had tough times on Friday night, and we’ve won the series. I just want us to stay pitch to pitch.”