For the 10th time in program history, the Lady Vols are heading to the Women’s College World Series.
Tennessee softball defeated Georgia 2-1 on Friday evening at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium, sweeping the Bulldogs en route to its second straight WCWS appearance. The No. 7 Lady Vols (47-10, 16-8 SEC) used a dominant performance from Sage Mardjetko in the circle to hold the No. 10 Bulldogs (41-20, 12-12) to one run and four hits in the win.
The Lady Vols threatened early but came up empty-handed. Ella Dodge singled, Emma Clarke walked and Alannah Leach joined them after being hit by a pitch. Tennessee stranded all three, striking out and flying out to right field to keep the game scoreless.
Erin Nuwer got the nod to start in the circle. The sophomore surrendered two singles with two outs in the first, but a groundout to third stranded both runners.
Sophia Knight wasted no time extending her hot streak into game two.
After homering and doubling on Thursday night, Knight delivered again in the second inning. Gabby Leach led off with a double to left, and after the Lady Vols fell into a two-out hole, Knight stepped up and blasted a two-run shot to right field. Knight’s second home run of the series proved to be the difference-maker in the game, being the only Lady Vols’ runs of the afternoon.
“Before postseason, we talked about all the regular season stats are out the window,” head coach Karen Weekly said. “Somebody’s going to do something surprising. There’s going to be something that lifts us when we need it that nobody expects. Obviously, she’s the one.”
Dodge and Clarke singled after the score, but a base-running miscue ended the frame. Alannah Leach hit a hard ball to the second baseman, who had trouble corralling it. Dodge broke for home, but the throw beat her and she was tagged out to end the inning.
Nuwer ran into trouble in the bottom of the second, hitting two batters with one out. Weekly turned to Mardjetko, who halted the crisis by punching out the next two batters to strand both.
After Tennessee’s five-hit flurry in the first two innings, both offenses went quiet.
The middle three frames were a classic pitcher’s duel. The Lady Vols managed no hits and no walks, but Mardjetko held Georgia off the board with four strikeouts in the middle three innings.
Tennessee had a chance to add insurance in the sixth. Saviya Morgan pinch ran after Makenzie Butt walked, advancing all the way to third after a foul out and ground out. However, Meredith Barnhart struck out in her pinch-hitting appearance, keeping the score at 2-0.
Mardjetko navigated a two-on jam in the bottom half, stranding both runners with a strikeout to keep the Bulldogs off the board.
Georgia made one final push in the seventh. A leadoff triple went down the right field line, then the runner scored on a wild pitch to cut the deficit to one. Mardjetko made sure that was the last notion of a comeback, striking out her ninth batter before a groundout to second sealed the win.
Mardjetko finished with 5.2 innings pitched, allowing one earned run on two hits while walking two and striking out nine on 99 pitches. She improved to 14-2 on the season and 2-0 in the postseason.
“Just coming in and doing my job, executing the pitches and the game plan, not making the moment too big,” Mardjetko said. “Even in that last inning where there’s a lot of excitement going on, just staying present in the moment and taking it pitch by pitch.”
The win punched Tennessee’s ticket to Oklahoma City for the 10th time, and the third time in four years. Weekly said the early clinch gives the Lady Vols something few teams heading to the WCWS will have — time.
“It’s going to be nice for us to get some rest, to get a little bit of extra practice time in,” Weekly said. “How many series haven’t even started yet? Three? We’re done.”
The Women’s College World Series will begin next week in Oklahoma City. The tournament will begin on Thursday, May 28, and run through Friday, June 5.
