Tennessee softball trolls South Carolina after SEC Championship victory

Mother Nature didn’t make it easy for No. 1 seed Tennessee in the SEC Softball Tournament after a lengthy lightning and rain delay on Wednesday pushed things back. The Lady Vols had to play two games in one day on Friday to set up Saturday’s championship game against No. 10 seed South Carolina with an automatic NCAA Tournament appearance on the line.

They rose to the occasion, knocking off the Gamecocks 3-1 to bring home the title. South Carolina was the first 10-seed to ever make the SEC championship game, and the Tennessee softball Twitter made note of that in a postgame troll.

“Clock struck midnight for cinderella,” the tweet read, along with the final score.

clock struck midnight for cinderella #SECChampions pic.twitter.com/OHzJkWM6AU

— Tennessee Softball (@Vol_Softball) May 13, 2023

Tennessee already won the SEC regular season title and was trying to cap off its impressive season with the tournament crown. That’s exactly what the Lady Vols did — although it wasn’t smooth sailing.

South Carolina scored first in the top of the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Riley Blampied. But Tennessee responded right away with an RBI single from Rylie West to tie things up at 1-1. Then, in the bottom of the third, Jamison Brockenbrough hit a two-run single that scored two runs to put the Lady Vols ahead 3-1.

That held as the final score, giving Tennessee the SEC Tournament title. Now, there’s one more thing left on the checklist, according to centerfielder Kiki Milloy.

“It was a part of our goal,” Milloy told ESPN’s Holly Rowe after the game. “Two-thirds of the goal. Let’s go get the national championship.”

As Tennessee heads toward the NCAA Tournament, Milloy detailed what it will take to maintain the momentum. She said the Lady Vols have to be ready from the get-go — on both sides of the ball.

“Just stay on the attack from the first pitch,” Milloy said. “Doesn’t matter if it’s offense [or] defense … we’re just staying on the attack.”

The Lady Vols have found a unique way to rally around each other this year, too. Milloy pointed to her wrist, which featured an acronym the players use to show what they’re playing for each game. That, she said, has helped them play better as a unit.

“We have a wristband and it says, ‘Family,'” Milloy said. “And it says, ‘Forget About Me, I Love You.’

“This team, it just means we play for each other. You, personally, are because of the team. We just play for each other.”