KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Graduate Payton Gottshall made history Thursday night as she notched her 1,000th career strikeout in the seventh inning against Western Carolina as she shut the door on a 6-0 Lady Vol victory at Catamount Softball Complex.
Tennessee (23-4) extends its nation-leading win streak to 15 in a row with its 13th shutout of the year.
Coming out of the bullpen in the fourth inning, Gottshall fanned nine Catamounts en route to her 10th win. The right-hander scattered three hits over four innings without allowing a walk.
Gottshall’s 1,000th strikeout of her career came in the bottom of the seventh as she struck out B.J. Wells to open the frame. The Massillon, Ohio, native struck out the side to close out the game.
The Lady Vols used three fifth-inning home runs to bust open the game. Destiny Rodriguez cranked her fifth home run this season to jump-start the frame. Rylie West returned to the lineup and followed Rodriguez’s blast with a long ball to extend Tennessee’s lead to 4-0.
With one on and one out, Kiki Milloy knocked a two-run shot down the left-field line for her ninth homer of the year to cap the scoring outburst.
Sophomore Charli Orsini got the start for the Lady Vols and tossed three no-hit innings before giving way to Gottshall.
Western Carolina (7-12) started MaKenzie Martin for two innings before turning things over to Taylor Norton in the circle. She lasted two innings and was relieved by Tessa Juett who finished out the game’s final three frames.
Norton allowed four runs on five hits and suffered the loss, falling to 2-3. Tennessee tagged Juett for two runs on three hits.
STAT OF THE DAY
With 1,002 career strikeouts, Payton Gottshall is the active Division I leader in punchouts.
UP NEXT
Tennessee goes to Columbia, South Carolina, March 23-25 for a Saturday-Monday three-game series against the Gamecocks.
