Tennessee softball is in full swing, and the competition continues to grow more fierce with each passing game.

The No. 4 Lady Vols defeated No. 5 Oregon 2-0 in a pitching duel led by hurler Karlyn Pickens. The senior, who enters her fourth season with Tennessee (5-0), has yet to allow an earned run in two outings, working through the Ducks (2-2) to power her group to a victory in the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida.

​On Saturday night, Pickens added seven more shutout innings against Oregon. Walks remained a concern, the right-hander yielding four on the night, but Pickens escaped unscathed. She tallied nine strikeouts over 115 pitches.

​The Lady Vols led off the top of the first with some gift-wrapped scoring. After the Ducks walked the bases loaded, Emma Clarke drew a free pass to bring the first run of the night home. ​Despite the bases being full with just one out, the Lady Vols were only able to cash in a single tally. 

​Pickens’ day started with a strikeout before walking the next batter. After Elsa Morrison picked off the runner at second, Pickens forced a groundout to end the first.

​Maddi Ruttan continued the patience at the plate with a leadoff walk in the top of the second, but the next three Lady Vols all sat down to end the inning.

​Pickens began the second inning with her second walk of the night before advancing the runner on a wild pitch. Despite the shaky start to the frame, she notched back-to-back strikeouts before getting a lineout to end things. 

​The pitching duel continued through the third, Oregon starting pitcher Lyndsey Grein retiring Tennessee in order once again. Pickens faced some more adversity, yielding a single and a walk, but a heads-up double play from Gabby Leach ended the inning.

​Innings four and five both turned out uneventful from an offensive perspective, with just one hit accumulated from either side. Just as quickly as the game had started, things had shifted into the top of the sixth inning with the Lady Vols clinging to a one-run lead. 

​Gabby Leach started things off against Grein with a double to center field. After a Morrison flyout, Ella Dodge finally broke the scoreless streak with a loud double over the right fielder for the second run of the game. ​The threat quickly came to a close after the next two Lady Vols were retired, and the Ducks had two more innings to climb out of the deficit.

Pickens walked her fourth batter of the night in the bottom half and allowed the runner to advance to second after another wild pitch. She once again limited the drama with a groundout.

Tennessee’s offense couldn’t cross home plate in the seventh, so Pickens had a two-run cushion to protect in clutch time. 

After a quick first two outs via a flyout and a strikeout, Pickens allowed a single to Katie Flannery. The threat subsided promptly, the final out of the game coming on a pop-up as the Lady Vols exhaled. 

The win moves Tennessee’s winning streak to five games. The Lady Vols get some time off before taking on Nebraska on Feb. 13.