The Lady Vols are finally set to take the field in the friendly confines of Sherri Parker Lee Stadium, and they will do so as the top-ranked team in the nation.
No. 1 Tennessee softball will host the Tennessee Invitational over the weekend, where it will play five games in the span of three days. Among the teams they will face are Appalachian State, Penn State and North Carolina Central.
This tournament will be the last prior to conference play for the unbeaten Lady Vols (14-0). The Nittany Lions (13-2) come to Knoxville on a nine-game winning streak, while the Mountaineers (11-2) have won three of their last four. Conversely, the Eagles (1-12) enter this weekend on a five-game losing streak.
How to watch Tennessee softball
Each of Tennessee’s games will be available on SEC Network+, which is also carried on the ESPN app. An audio broadcast of the weekend slate will also be available on UTSports.com.
Home sweet home
At long last, the Lady Vols return home for their first homestand of the season.
Tennessee opened the season with three tournaments away from home, but it now returns as the unbeaten, top-ranked team in the country. Suffice to say, Lady Vols head coach Karen Weekly is ready to go.
“We’re super excited to get back to Sherri (Parker) Lee Stadium, and play in front of the most amazing fans in the country,” Weekly said.
Senior Karlyn Pickens called Sherri Parker Lee Stadium “the place to play” during her media availability on Wednesday. With the Lady Vols coming home atop the collegiate softball rankings, it just might be the place to be this weekend.
Complete command
By now, the excellence of the Tennessee pitching staff is no secret. Pickens and Erin Nuwer have combined to allow one run to open the season, and Sage Mardjetko comes off a weekend in which she threw a no-hitter among her two complete-game shutouts.
Through 14 games, the Lady Vols have combined to allow just four earned runs, and they have a team ERA of 0.32. The second-best team in the nation in this category is Alabama, possessing a 0.86 team ERA.
They will face a good test this weekend, with Penn State averaging 8.07 runs per game and Appalachian State averaging about seven runs per game. How the staff matches up against good offenses will be key to watch throughout the weekend.
Leading off right
One multi-hit game in a weekend tournament is pretty good for most players. Well, what about four?
Sophia Knight had about as close to a perfect weekend as it gets, going 11-of-13 across the weekend slate in Birmingham. That calculates to a batting average of .896, which led to her being named SEC Player of the Week.
To this point, Knight has delivered on everything Weekly could have possibly hoped for out of the leadoff spot. She leads the team in hits, batting average, on-base-percentage and stolen bases.
The Boise State transfer has lived up to the label of a “spark plug” that Weekly gave her early in the season, and she will look to continue her early-season success for the Lady Vols.
