SOFTBALL CENTRAL: No. 12 Tennessee at USF Invitational

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 12^th-ranked Lady Vols are heading south for some more fun in the sun and a five-game slate in Tampa, Fla., for the USF Invitational from Friday-Sunday.

The weekend tournament includes an all-Florida lineup, opening with FIU at 11:30 a.m. (ET), followed by UCF at 2 p.m. in Friday's doubleheader.

Tennessee (6-2) will have an early start on Saturday with a 9 a.m. first pitch with the Knights before taking on host-team USF at 2 p.m.

Things close on Sunday for the Lady Vols in another outing with the Bulls at 11:30 a.m.

Broadcast Info
Fans can listen to the action online at utsports.com by clicking the listen link on the schedule page or by downloading the Tennessee Gameday App, with Brian Rice calling all of the action.

Quick Hits
All-Tournament Takers
After a 3-1 showing in Week 2 of the season at the Puerto Vallarta Collegiate Challenge in Mexico, standout play from junior outfielder Amanda Ayala and freshman pitcher Callie Turner resulted in all-tournament honors. Turner secured all three of UT's wins in the circle and tabbed a career-high 10 strikeouts against Colorado State in a complete game effort giving up just one walk. Ayala, who currently sits atop of the team chart with a .458 hitting clip, recorded four hits, three runs and offered three RBIs in the four-game stretch.

Turner Turns It Up in Early Preseason
With sophomore ace Ashley Rogers temporarily sidelined, freshman Callie Turner has stepped into the circle to steady the Lady Vols staff. Turner has jumped out to a 5-1 win-loss record with a team-best 2.88 ERA in 34.0 innings of work. The Land O'Lakes native has also recorded one save.

Newcomers, New Energy
The Tennessee roster looks to be energized by a talented young freshman class. Comprised of eight newcomers: Anna Fox (Columbia, Tenn.), Kiki Milloy (Woodinville, Wash.), KK McCrary (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), Josie Willingham (Medon, Tenn.), Callie Turner (Land O'Lakes, Fla.), Amanda Curran (The Woodlands, Texas), Anna Hazlewood (Martin, Tenn.) and Madison Webber (Sevierville, Tenn.) – the first-year Lady Vols were ranked the No. 6 recruiting class by Softball America. All eight newcomers have seen the field, with four of the new class finding themselves in the starting lineup.

The group is highlighted by the No. 5 recruit in the nation Milloy, daughter of former NFL player Lawyer Milloy. Kiki Milloy won a Washington state championship in 2017 and was also named as the Defensive Player of the Year in basketball in 2018 and proved to be equally versatile and athletic during the Lady Vols' fall season. Milloy's sister, Amirah, plays softball for the top-ranked Washington Huskies. Kiki Milloy could potentially lead off the offense for UT this season.

Hail Tennessee
Nearly half of the Lady Vols squad is made up of in-state talent. There are nine Tennessee natives on the 2020 roster, believed to be a record for the program. Seniors Treasuary Poindexter (Covington, Tenn.) and Cailin Hannon (Franklin, Tenn.) and sophomores Kaili Phillips (Ooltewah, Tenn.) and Ashley Rogers (Athens, Tenn.) are joined by freshmen Anna Fox (Columbia, Tenn.), KK McCrary (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), Josie Willingham (Medon, Tenn.), Anna Hazlewood (Martin, Tenn.) and Madison Webber (Sevierville, Tenn.).

25th Anniversary
On Feb. 23, 1996, Tennessee fielded its first softball team at the 10th Annual Louisiana Classics in Lafayette, La. A 1-0 loss to Baylor, a program that had been around since 1979, marked the beginning of what would become one of the Vols and Lady Vols premier athletic programs. The Lady Vols bounced back the following day to pick up the program's first win, a 5-4 victory over the Bears and eventually took the series in a rubber match on Feb. 25, a 9-8, eight-inning victory. Fast forward to 2020 and 1,124 wins later, the Orange and White opens the programs 25th year in extant as the season commences on Feb. 8 in Tempe, Ariz., against Northwestern.

All-American Homecoming
In late January, Tennessee announced that it would host the U.S. Women's National Team as part of Team USA's "Stand Beside Her" Tour – a nationwide tour where the Red, White and Blue will face top Division I collegiate teams in preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. On April 8, the Lady Vols face off against the WNT at Sherri Parker Lee and will welcome back Tennessee great Monica Abbott, a four-time All-American (2004-07), three-time SEC Pitcher of the Year (2004, 05, 07), USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year trophy winner and NCAA/UT program record holder. Tickets for the event are currently sold out, but the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

SCOUTING REPORT
FIU
2020 record: 2-1, 0-0 C-USA
Series record: 2-0
Last outing: The Lady Vols run-ruled the Panthers 8-0 in five innings in Las Vegas, Nev., on Feb. 16.
Key player/stat: Junior ace and current C-USA Co-Pitcher of the Week Alison Muraskin led the Panthers to a season-opening win over Cal, a historically respected program, and against Syracuse in Miami. Muraskin currently holds a 2-0 win-loss record and a 0.60 ERA. Trio Alexis Johns, Jocelyn Alonso and AnnMarie Cooker, are currently batting over .500. Johns, the Panthers lead-off hitter, has five hits, two runs and is perfect on four stolen base attempts.

UCF
2020 record: 9-2, 0-0 AAC
Series record: 2-2
Last outing: The Knights downed the No. 16 Lady Vols 6-3 in Clermont, Fla., on Feb. 14, 2010.
Key player/stat: UCF, which is receiving votes in the major polls this week, is currently 6-2 against Power 5 schools so far this season. The Knights also have a deep bullpen with three of its four pitchers recording at least two wins so far. Offensively, sophomore Karissa Ornelas leads the team with .480 batting average, while four players have recorded at least 10 hits and three at least 10 RBI. UCF has outhit opponents 96-57 and limited rivaling teams to .215 batting clip.

USF
2020 record: 2-7, 0-0 AAC
Series record: 12-8-1
Last outing: A No. 10 Tennessee beat USF on Feb. 17, 7-4 in Clearwater, Fla., in 2018.
Key player/stat: The Bulls have face seven top-25 teams so far this season pulled out a pair of upset shutouts over No. 17/19 Texas Tech (3-0) and No. 15 Georgia (2-0) at the prestigious St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational. USF offense is led by Senior CLASS Award candidate AnaMarie Bruni, with a .433 batting average and 13 hits. She's also added three stolen bases on six attempts so far.

Up Next
The Lady Vols return to Knoxville for a midweek home opener on Feb. 26 against UT-Martin at 5 p.m. The game will be live streamed on the SEC Network+.

SOFTBALL CENTRAL: No. 12 Tennessee at USF Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Amanda Ayala

Amanda Curran

Anna Fox

Cailin Hannon

Anna Hazlewood

KK McCrary

Kiki Milloy

Kaili Phillips

Treasuary Poindexter

Ashley Rogers

Callie Turner

Madison Webber

Josie Willingham

University of Tennessee Athletics