May 10, 2007

AUBURN, Ala. - Monica Abbott threw her 22nd complete game shutout of the season, limiting Ole Miss to one hit in the process as top-seeded and national No. 1 Tennessee beat the eighth-seeded Rebels, 6-0, in the first round of the SEC Softball Tournament Thursday at Jane B. Moore Field. The Lady Vols will face fourth-seeded Florida in the semifinals Friday at 7:30 p.m. CT.

Abbott struck out 14 batters and extended her NCAA career strikeout record to 2,289. After surrendering a single in the second, she retired 16 straight batters before a walk in the seventh in route to her 41st win of the year.

The Lady Vols took a 2-0 lead in the third on a two-out double by Tonya Callahan and added three more in the fourth aided by three singles and two Ole Miss errors. Tennessee closed out the scoring with a final run in the fifth.

Tennessee was led offensively by India Chiles and Tiffany Huff, who each had two hits in the win. Callahan drove in two runs for the Lady Vols.

Ashley Dowdy had Ole Miss' lone hit. Tara Willitt was tagged with five runs in three innings in the loss. The Rebels tied a season-high with four errors.