For the second season in a row, the Lady Vols’ season ends at the hands of Texas in the WCWS semifinals.
After beating the Longhorns in their opening game of the WCWS, Texas stormed back to win the most important game of the series 4-0. No. 7 Tennessee (49-12, 16-8 SEC) will have nightmares of the Longhorns for a second straight year after being eliminated by them 2-0 last year.
No. 2 Texas (51-12, 16-8) took both games on Monday, setting up the elimination game and then advancing to the finals. The Longhorns will face the winner of the Alabama vs. Texas Tech game as they seek their second straight WCWS title.
“We were chasing things out of the zone and then taking things in the zone, which usually stems from you’re kind of overthinking things and getting a little bit frustrated,” head coach Karen Weekly said. “Part of that is maturity with players. Part of it is preparation and making sure that they’re ready for those moments. Ultimately, it falls on my shoulders, and I take responsibility for it.”
All eyes on Pickens
Tennessee elected to use Sage Mardjetko and Erin Nuwer in its 5-2 first-game loss to the Longhorns. Naturally, that set up Karlyn Pickens to make her final collegiate start in the Lady Vols’ most important game of the season.
“Just my four years here have been nothing but amazing,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed my experience so much. I’ve been a part of four amazing groups of girls, and I think that’s kind of the hardest part of walking away from it.”
She threw a complete game, tying her season high by allowing seven hits and giving up three walks in the loss. The senior also struck out six to end her illustrious career with the Lady Vols.
“Work ethic, No. 1,” Weekly said when asked why Karlyn was one of the best arms in the sport. “Determination. Karlyn wants to be the best. A growth mindset, she has this amazing balance of confidence and humility that allows her to be very, very coachable. And she loves to compete, just loves to compete. I’ve never had an athlete who wanted to own the responsibility of the game.”
She ends her tenure at Tennessee in fifth place for innings pitched, third in strikeouts and sixth in wins.
Third inning sets tone
After Pickens started the game striking out the side, it all went downhill from there.
She walked two in the second frame but managed to keep the Longhorns off the board. In the third, she wasn’t quite as lucky.
Jaycie Nichols led off with a single, and Kayden Henry laid down a beautiful bunt to reach base. Katie Stewart advanced both to scoring position with a ground out, and a single from Vivianna Martinez scored the game’s first run.
She stole second next, allowing Henry to steal home for a 2-0 lead. Reese Atwood doubled off her future teammate, scoring the third run of the inning. Atwood had a chance to tack on one more run, but she was caught going home on a great throw by Gabby Leach to end the inning.
Tennessee disappearing bat act
Tennessee’s offense may have never even left the hotel on Monday.
After batting .179 in the first game against Citlaly Gutierrez, the Lady Vols fared even worse in the second game. Teagan Kavan carved up Tennessee after allowing three runs and hits in three innings on Thursday during the opening round.
Texas’ junior ace threw a complete game in game two on Monday, striking out 10 while allowing just two hits in seven innings. Tennessee batted an atrocious .087 with no walks.
“I think Texas has a really good pitching staff,” Emma Clarke said. “We just weren’t at our best today. Kudos to them, we tip our hats to them, and they were just better than us today.”
It was no different than Tennessee’s loss to the same team last season on the same stage. Kavan tore Tennessee up, ringing up three batters and not allowing a hit through three innings. The Lady Vols were held to a .125 batting average in the loss to Texas last year.
What’s next
With the loss, Tennessee’s season is over. The Lady Vols came up one win short of their third trip to the WCWS finals, ending their 10th title search empty-handed. Luckily for Tennessee, it’ll sustain minimal losses.
Pickens will be the headliner of the group graduating, including Jackie Kirkpatrick and Camryn Sarvis.
“I told them in the locker room there’s never any words to say that’s going to ease the pain,” Weekly said. “But I think for our team, the pain is because it’s the end of them being together.”
