No. 7 Tennessee rallied in the fifth inning, but came up short, falling to No. 17 Duke 6-3 at Smith Family Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Lady Vols (37-7) started senior Karlyn Pickens in the circle, but fell behind early in the first inning as the Blue Devils jumped out to a 3-0 lead.
Duke's (32-12) Jessica Oakland hit a three-run home run off the scoreboard in left-center field. After the blast, UT turned to junior Sage Mardjetko out of the bullpen.
Mardjetko limited the damage and got the Lady Vols out of the inning.
The Blue Devils extended the lead in the third with a two-run home run from Tyrina Jones.
In the fifth, the Lady Vols mounted a rally as Alannah Leach hit a solo home run over the wall in right, marking her 10th of the season. Her twin sister, Gabby Leach, followed a few batters later with a two-run blast to draw UT within two runs at 5-3.
It never got closer.
DUE UP
Tennessee will have the weekend off before facing Radford on Tuesday, April 21, at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.