Winning by a combined score of 40-0, Tennessee had little trouble defeating all five of its opponents at the USF Invitational in Tampa this weekend.
The Lady Vols won two games by run rule on Friday, defeating both Michigan State and South Florida. The highlight of the weekend was the 1-0 win over Clemson, which was the second win over top-10 opposition for the Lady Vols this year. To conclude the tournament, Tennessee earned two wins over Illinois-Chicago, one each on Saturday and Sunday.
Here are three takeaways from the successful weekend in Florida.
Strong pitching from Pickens
The Lady Vols’ pitching staff did not allow a single run all weekend. Although the headlines coming into this season focused on senior Ashley Rogers, the most impressive woman in the circle was Karlyn Pickens.
Pickens faced a Clemson offense who, as of the end of the weekend, have a .377 average and 25 home runs on the season. She only allowed four hits on 24 at-bats and held the Tigers scoreless — the first time they had failed to score all season.
She was also the only pitcher to pitch a full seven-inning game as Rogers, Payton Gottshall and Ryleigh White all completed shutouts that were shortened due to the run rule. Pickens went toe to toe with Valerie Cagle, throwing eight strikeouts in her shutout win.
The performance of Pickens was necessary, as the Lady Vols offense could only muster one run in the game. Pickens showed that she can handle tough opposition and high expectations, proving that although she may only be a freshman this year, she will be a mainstay in the Tennessee rotation.
Five pitchers made appearances this weekend with Nicola Simpson also making an appearance on Sunday. The Lady Vols have proved that their pitching depth can be trusted, especially during the NCAA tournament, when teams play multiple games in a short time period.
Offense has not lost a step
The Tennessee offense put up a total of 40 runs over the course of the weekend. When considering that many of these games were abbreviated due to the run rule, the offense was even more impressive.
Moving into the leadoff slot beginning on Saturday, Mackenzie Donihoo added to her impressive doubles total with three more two-base hits on the weekend. McKenna Gibson maintained a .500 average across the weekend with seven runs batted in, including the only one in the win over Clemson. Katie Taylor and Zaida Puni both hit a home run this weekend.
Preseason All-American Kiki Milloy hit five RBIs, stole five bases and hit a home run in the tournament, proving that her preseason accolades were deserved.
After a strong performance against some of the best pitching staffs in the nation, the Tennessee offense shows no signs of letting up.
Weekly reaches 1,000 wins
Head coach Karen Weekly recorded the 1,000th win of her career on Saturday against Illinois-Chicago. Beginning her Lady Vol coaching career in 2022, Weekly has won two SEC tournament championships and has advanced to the Women’s College World Series seven times, including twice as a finalist.
After the retirement of her husband Ralph after of the 2021 season, this is Weekly’s second season as the standalone head coach of the Lady Vols. Including her five seasons at UT-Chattanooga, Weekly has recorded a total of 1,224 wins in her career.
