Tennessee softball started conference play with a perfect weekend.
The Lady Vols defeated Missouri, 4-0, to sweep the series. No. 8 Tennessee (22-4, 3-0 SEC) started its defense of its regular-season conference championship with three wins over the No. 11 Tigers (22-6, 2-4).
Karlyn Pickens threw her second shutout of the weekend, striking out 11 Missouri batters. Pickens has grown significantly, and much of the credit for that goes to pitching coach Megan Rhodes Smith.
“You don’t make that kind of growth without a coach driving and supporting it,” Tennessee head coach Karen Weekly said. “It’s Karlyn buying in, coming back from last year, just trusting the development of her other pitches other than just her fastball.”
At the plate, the Lady Vols hit three home runs, continuing their power from the first two games of the series. But the Lady Vols only earned three other hits.
Even though Tennessee’s hitting didn’t show up in the box score, it was still more consistent as the game wore on.
“Other than an at-bat here or there, I don’t have any complaints today,” Weekly said. “We got under some balls, but it wasn’t because there was something wrong with the swing. We just missed under.”
The Lady Vols started the game inefficient at the plate. Kiki Milloy led off the game with a single and stole second, but she could not be driven in.
Laura Mealer began the scoring with a home run to center field in the second inning. The home run was her first hit of the weekend after starting the series 0-for-5.
“They had thrown that changeup earlier in the at-bat,” Weekly said. “She didn’t do anything with it the first time. Just for her to be able to make that adjustment and be on time with it, it was awesome.”
One inning later, McKenna Gibson hit a home run over the left-field wall. She drove in Milloy, who reached on a walk and stole her second base of the game.
Finding consistency was vital for the Lady Vols. Six different Tennessee batters hit home runs, proving the depth throughout the lineup.
“I think we talked a lot about being aggressive, going in, playing freely,” Gibson said. “Just the ability for everyone in our lineup to really dive in, that just kind of showed the depth that we do have.”
Missouri started to show some life in the fourth inning. The Tigers put two runners on base with one out and looked ready to strike back. Pickens had other ideas, as she retired the next two batters to maintain her shutout.
Milloy added to Tennessee’s lead in the fifth, hitting a home run off the video board in left-center. The homer was her first in nine games and put the Lady Vols up four.
Tennessee tried to get a rally going in the sixth inning. Mealer walked, but she was called out for leaving early, and the Lady Vols would not put another runner on in the inning.
Pickens allowed one runner on in the seventh inning but was able to work around her, completing a shutout performance. Her confidence is a major part of how she finds success.
“The biggest thing for me is just the confidence that you see in her eyes, her body language on the mound,” Gibson said. “She looks like she’s a dog out there and she knows it. She’s got some very powerful stuff, and she’s an amazing pitcher.”
