Lauren Lappin’s disappointment at Stanford’s (43-16) elimination from this year’s NCAA softball tournament was evident during the post-game press conference. With her voice breaking at times, the Stanford junior shortstop tried to explain what happened in the No. 5 Cardinal’s 6-0 loss to No. 11 Tennessee (64-13).

“It was definitely frustrating today because we could not catch a break,” Lappin said, struggling to hold back tears. “We were hitting the ball well but to players. As my Dad would say, the softball gods were not on our side this weekend.”

Almost anyone present at Boyd and Jill Smith Family Stadium during the third inning of Saturday’s game would agree. The Cardinal’s potent lineup, a force throughout the season, was shutout for seven innings by the Lady Vols’ Monica Abbott (47-7).

The typically dominant pitching tandem of freshman Becky McCullough and junior Laura Severson was touched for nine hits, five which came in the third. But the Cardinal duo only gave up three earned runs during the entire game, and Stanford’s loss came down to errors and missed opportunities.

“I respect and care for Stanford’s student-athletes, and it seems like a lot of things went our way today,” said Tennessee head coach Ralph Weekly. “Monica pitched outs, and we got the key hits.”

The Lady Vols had reached base once prior to the third inning, on a hit and then on an error by freshman first baseman Erin Howe, but they failed to score.

Sarah Fekete led off the five-run rally in the third. Two singles later, Tennessee scored the first run of the game with a bouncer to centerfield. That prompted Stanford head coach John Rittman to pull McCullough, and Severson pitched the rest of the game in relief.

According to Rittman, McCullough was taken out early in consideration of the possibility of a double-header (the Super Regional was a best-of-three series. If Stanford came back to win, the deciding game would have taken place later that afternoon).

Tennessee’s next hitter, Katherine Card, hit the ball through Severson’s legs to load the bases and from then on, things began to unravel for the Cardinal. Freshman second baseman Tricia Aggabao couldn’t snag a line drive but picked it up and fired to Lappin who was covering second for what was an apparent force out. But the runner was ruled safe, and Lappin was given an error for stepping off the bag.

“This game was not indicative of our defense,” Rittman said. “I believe we were one of the best defensive teams in the Pac-10. A couple of things factored into this today. You can’t give a good team outs.”

Severson struck out the next batter, but Kenora Posey reached first when Howe was unable to handle Aggabao’s throw. Tennessee extended the 3-0 lead with a two-run single to center.

“We had got runners on before and didn’t hit them in,” said Lindsay Schutzler, who went 2-for-4. “When the inning came around we did get the hits and breaks we needed. Everyone came through ... the pinch hitters were getting hits.”

Tennessee tacked on an insurance run in the sixth inning.

Following a hit batsmen in the first, and a hit by Howe in the second, Abbott shut down the Cardinal offense for the rest of the game. Howe tallied the Cardinal’s only hit of the day as Tennessee completed a two-game sweep to move on to the College Softball World Series in Oklahoma next week.

Tennessee won Friday night’s game 2-0. McCullough took the complete game loss, allowing one earned run on four hits. Sophomore leftfielder Jackie Rinehart was the the only member of the Stanford team to find success against Abbott, going 2-for-3.

“We had nothing to lose facing Abbott,” Lappin said, adding that the lefthander has a lot of pitches that work for her. “The pressure is on her [Abbott] to be great. She just beat a great team two days in a row.”

The Lady Vols can hope to continue to ride on Abbott’s success in the circle. They will make their first appearance at the World Series, where they hope to build on a Division I single-season record 48 shutouts.

Stanford, on the other hand, packs up its season one step short of its goal of reaching the World Series for the second consecutive year. The Cardinal, however, did set some records of their own. Freshman Michelle Smith shattered the Stanford single-season home run record and the Cardinal clinched a share of their first Pacific-10 Conference title in school history.

And though Stanford is out of the tournament earlier than expected, the squad looks prepared for next season.

“Our pitching was uncertain going into the year,” Rittman said. “Laura stepped up early and was a true leader for our pitching staff. All year we were looking to see who would step up. Becky blossomed to be our go-to pitcher. She has great poise on the mound and holds her emotions well. Becky has a great future for us.”

Though the freshman came in handy this season for Rittman’s team, six seniors made significant contributions and will be sorely missed. Leah Nelson, Elizabeth Bendig, Megan Sickler, Katherine Hoffman, Michelle Thiry and Heather Shook all played their final game on the Farm on Saturday in front of a packed house.

“I didn’t know this was going to be my last game,” Nelson said. “I did enjoy my time here at Stanford and I had a great time here.”