No. 11 Tennessee hands USC third last at-bat loss in last four conference games
Coming into Sunday, the USC softball team probably didn't think that it could get any worse.
It did.
For the third time in four SEC contests, Carolina was defeated after a walk-off hit. The Gamecocks dropped Sunday's contest at No. 11 Tennessee 5-4, as the Lady Vols completed a three-game series sweep as third baseman Raven Chavanne's two-out double ended the game.
The Gamecocks needed some sort of spark after dropping the first two games to the Lady Vols, and they thought they had one in Hannah Milks. A first inning grand slam from the sophomore right fielder gave USC an early 4-0 lead.
But Tennessee slowly clawed its way back, as it got runs in the first, third, and sixth before Chavanne's heroics were preceded by Melissa Davin, whose two-out single tied the game at four in the seventh.
In Friday night's contest, Tennessee defeated the Gamecocks 4-2 after pinch hitter Chelsea O'Connor hit a walk-off homer in the eighth inning.
In that contest, Tennessee took a two-run lead on back-to-back homers in the second inning before USC first baseman Laura Mendes tied the game at two with a two-run home run
The game would remain tied until O'Connor's homer in eighth.
Tennessee (27-5, 5-3 SEC) scored six runs in the first inning off USC freshman pitcher Julie Sarratt in Saturday's first contest, as the Lady Vols thrashed the Gamecocks 10-3.
The UT hitters ultimately proved to be too much for the Gamecocks as they amassed 31 hits in the three game series.
The Gamecocks (17-15, 3-10 SEC) hope to rebound on Wednesday at home against USC Upstate.