On Sunday afternoon, the No.4 Lady Vols dropped back-to-back games to the No. 5 Florida Gators. It was the Lady Vols’ first series loss of the 2026 season.
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The offense struggled to find its groove in the series, but got back to swinging freely during the team’s midweek contest against Tennessee Tech, resulting in an 8-0 run rule victory. The Lady Vols (29-3, 6-3 SEC) took a few innings to get the ball rolling on either side, and Tennessee head coach Karen Weekly was vocal about that early disappointment.
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Most specifically towards her starting pitcher, Erin Nuwer, who, over her first three innings, allowed three runners to reach base. One reached from a fielding error, while the other two were a hit by pitch to lead off the game and a walk in the third inning.
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“The first couple of innings, I was not super pleased,” Weekly said. “We had a little chat about that. She needs to attack, and there were too many non-competitive pitches. They weren’t producing a bunch of bass runners or scoring, but just too many times where they didn’t even have to make a decision on a pitch because it was so clearly a ball.”
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Even with the early struggles from Nuwer, Weekly didn’t seem concerned about her sophomore starter’s ability to settle in. Nuwer did just that.
She finished the day throwing all six innings before the run-rule ended the match. She only struck out three batters, but remained efficient by walking one and throwing just 68 total pitches in the evening.
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“Karen had said to stop missing as much as you are, and I kind of just adjusted my eyes, adjusted my timing of the pitches,” Nuwer said. “I felt like that was really helpful.”
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Nuwer’s shutout performance left the door open for the Lady Vols’ offense to rebound after a tough series showing against Florida, where the team mustered just six runs over the three games.
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“Erin is really good at responding, and honestly, tonight reminded me that sometimes I just need to express my displeasure a little quicker,” Weekly said with a laugh. “Usually she kicks it into gear, and that’s what I appreciate about coaching her.”
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The team outdid that number in just one game, scoring eight against the Golden Eagles, with a lot of the impact in the lineup coming from the sixth hole or lower in the order.
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Sophia Knight, who had hit leadoff the majority of the season, was put in the three-hole, where she went two for three with a triple. Besides Knight, none of the other top four hitters tallied a base-knock on the evening.
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Maddi Rutan got the scoring started from the seven-hole in the lineup, sending a two-run home run over the left field wall. It was her fourth of the season. Mckenzie Butt added an RBI off a single, her one hit of the night, to move the Lady Vols’ lead to 3-0.
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Freshman Meredith Barnhart added to the party with a pinch-hit two-run double that screamed down the right-field line.
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“We made a good strike towards being the kind of offensive team we want to be,” Weekly said. “It’s more of our mentality, now the challenge is to continue doing that, to stay consistent with that mentality.”
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The conference gauntlet continues as the Lady Vols welcome Ole Miss to town on Friday, beginning a three-game series.