Kiki Milloy had the chance to send Tennessee softball to Oklahoma City.
She came to the plate down three runs with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh. After being a leader in the clubhouse during her five-year career, she had the last at-bat in the Knoxville Super Regional.
“At that point in time, I didn’t care who had the bat in their hand,” Milloy said. “I trusted all my teammates and I had confidence in myself.”
She grounded out, ending the game — and the season — for the Lady Vols. Tennessee didn’t advance to the Women’s College World Series, finishing its season with a 44-12 record.
Most of all, it’s the end for the group of 23 players that spent 56 games together.
“It’s just a crappy way to end the game,” Milloy said. “Kind of like what Karen said, I’m just glad that I was able to do it with these girls and it sucks that we don’t get to play tomorrow.”
Rylie West was by her side the entire way. West saw Milloy’s leadership firsthand for four seasons as the two brought Tennessee back to the Women’s College World Series.
The two both won the Torchbearer award, the highest honor given by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. They became the first pair of teammates to win the award
“She’s like my older sister,” West said. “She has pushed me beyond any limits that I thought to be a better person, to be a better competitor, to be a better teammate, to be a better leader. She’s been an inspiration to all of us with her competitiveness, her drive, her fire.”
Milloy is the most prolific power hitter in Tennessee softball’s history, leading the program with 69 career home runs. She is a true five-tool player, pairing her excellence at the plate with her fielding arm and her speed on the bases. Milloy made just three errors in her college career for a .990 fielding percentage.
On the basepaths, she swiped 141 bags on 152 attempts, successfully stealing 93% of the time. She excelled at every part of being a softball player when it came to individual stats.
However, perhaps her greatest achievement was her presence in the clubhouse every day. She kept pushing the Lady Vols forward when they needed it.
It was common for Milloy, when on base, to scream encouragement down to the batter from either first or third. She did it on Saturday when she was standing on base with Gibson at the plate. Whenever she could, she was trying to propel the Lady Vols further.
“Look at what she’s done in her time here,” West said. “She is absolutely phenomenal. I am just so, so, so grateful that we have been here at the same time because she drives and pushes this team. We couldn’t have almost half of what we did without her.”
Now, Milloy’s playing career is over. She remembers how she felt in her first two postseasons watching seniors end their careers after home tournament losses. She knows the pain of being upset at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium by Liberty in 2021 and Oregon State in 2022.
But she also remembers the drive it gave her to make sure the next year was different. Milloy and the Lady Vols used that as motivation to get to the Women’s College World Series in 2023 and have Ashley Rogers play her final game in front of 12,000 in Oklahoma City.
Even though Milloy and the rest of the seniors won’t be there, she feels the Lady Vols can go farther in 2025.
“Rylie’s first years and then my kind of first years, we had similar feelings to this and we vowed that we were never going to feel this way again,” Milloy said. “Obviously it sucks that we’re here right know. But I think they’re going to take this and they’re just going to run with it.”
