5/13/2023 other sports Edit

Lady Vols beat South Carolina to claim SEC Tournament crown

Tennessee won its first SEC Tournament Championship since 2011 at Bogle Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Saturday. (University of Tennessee Athletics)

Noah Taylor • VolReport

Managing Editor

Noah is a graduate of the UT College of Journalism & Electronic Media and has covered Tennessee football since 2019. He joined Rivals in 2022.

Tennessee's run in Fayetteville couldn't have had a more fitting end.

After proving themselves as the best team in the SEC during the regular season, the Lady Vols left little doubt on Saturday, beating South Carolina 3-1 at Bogle Park to claim the program's first conference tournament title since 2011.

It wasn't an easy path. Nothing in this league often is.

In less than 24 hours, Tennessee (44-8) had to come from behind to beat Alabama for the third time this season to clinch its spot in the championship game against the 10-seeded Cinderella Gamecocks who upset 2-seed Georgia and Auburn to get there.

In a weekend that started with the Lady Vols receiving their first regular season trophy in more than 15 years prior to their quarterfinal bout with Florida, Tennessee was hoisting the tournament trophy a day later.

Jamison Brockenbrough singled through the left side to break a 1-1 tie and give Tennessee its first lead at 3-1 in the bottom half of the third inning.

That's all it took.

Dominating pitching performances from starter Payton Gottshall, who allowed just three hits and run while striking out two in 5.0 innings before All-SEC First Team Ashley Rogers closed out the game with three strikeouts kept South Carolina (37-19) from cutting into the lead despite getting the tying run to the plate in the seventh.

The Lady Vols carry plenty of momentum into the NCAA Tournament where they will likely garner a top five national seed and host a regional at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium next week.

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