OKLAHOMA CITY — Alannah Leach had two hits and knocked in four runs, and Tennessee rolled past Florida 11-3 in a Women's College World Series elimination game on Friday night.
Tennessee (46-16) pounded out 12 hits and set a record for its highest run total in a World Series game. The seventh-seeded Volunteers advanced to play the loser of Saturday's Texas Tech vs. UCLA game in an elimination game on Sunday.
Third-seeded Florida (48-17), a national semifinalist last year, was knocked out in two games.
Tennessee lost its World Series opener to Oklahoma on a walk-off home run by Ella Parker on Thursday. Tennessee coach Karen Weekly said her team responded well after the disappointing loss.
''This morning when I walked into breakfast, it was all laughter and noise and joking and smiles, and you never would have known what happened last night,'' Weekly said. ''And that's the way you want your team to be.''
The Volunteers rallied to support ace pitcher Karlyn Pickens, who gave up the walk-off.
''Obviously an emotional night, but these guys said two things in the locker room last night,'' Weekly said. ''Number one, they said, Karlyn, it's not your fault; and, number two, Karlyn, we got your back.''
They meant it. Pickens started against Florida, and the Volunteers supported her with seven runs on seven hits in the first inning. Alannah Leach's twin sister, Gabby Leach, got it started with a triple, and she scored on a single by Taylor Pannell. A double by Alannah Leach knocked in three runs.
