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Tennessee (50-15) scored a 7-1 victory over Virginia Tech (46-16) Sunday afternoon to force another game in NCAA softball regional at Lee Softball Stadium.

The winner of Sunday night's game advances to play Michigan in Ann Arbor in a best-of-three Super Regional next weekend with a trip to the Women’s College World Series on the line.

Hokies’ ace Angela Tincher (35-7) saw her postseason scoreless streak of 28 innings snapped in the first after walking the bases loaded with one out and surrendering a two-RBI double to UT sophomore Tiffany Huff.

Tennessee’s Megan Rhodes (23-10) pitched four scoreless innings before giving way to freshman Ashton Ward with 13th-ranked UT up 5-0 going into the bottom of the fifth.

Ward was ineffective, however, surrendering a home run to Beth Walker and a walk before Rhodes was brought back in to finish the game.

Rhodes, who threw 90 pitches to Tincher’s 40, was expected to start the decisive second game Sunday night.

Tincher was pulled with the Lady Vols up 3-0, compliments of a Virginia Tech throwing error, and runners on first and second with one out in the second inning.

The Lady Vols added another run in the second when Shannon Doepking had a bases-loaded RBI groundout off reliever Kenzie Roark.

UT’s run in the fifth came on an Erinn Webb solo homer, and Webb added a two-run homer in the seventh to close the scoring.

The start of the first game was delayed 90 minutes on account of rain.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.