Women’s softball took a break from conference play to host the University of Tennessee on Tuesday. The Bucs lost the game 11-0, leaving them with an overall record of 17-20-2.

The Bucs currently have a conference record of 3-6, and have now dropped their eighth consecutive game.

For some background, the Lady Vols are No. 8 in the NCAA, and have an overall record of 33-8 and a conference record of 11-2.

“We held them to three hits, and I think if we look at something to come out of this it might be that,” said head coach Brad Irwin. “The last two conference weekends we’ve struggled to finish in games, so I think we’ll just keep working.”

The Lady Vols made their way on the scoreboard in the opening inning as a result of three consecutive walks. As the bases were loaded, there were no outs and the Lady Vols took their 1-0 advantage.

Junior Kelly Schmidt (Norcross, Georgia) was able to limit the damage done by recording the final out.

The second inning saw the Bucs reach bases due to a two-out walk by the Lady Vols. The Bucs took to first base, which would be the first and last of the evening.

The Lady Vols went on to score four consecutive runs in the third inning, and five in the fourth, after a walk loaded the bases for the Vols leading to a homerun and a 5-0 advantage.

The fifth and final inning saw more action from the Vols as they advanced the score a final time, making the end result an 11-0 shutout.

“Tonight was great for the community and the crowd, so it was great for Tennessee to come out here and do that for our area,” said Irwin.

The Bucs will return home for another SoCon series starting on Thursday against Furman.