This time, it’s personal.
One year after losing to Oklahoma in the national championship series, Tennessee will travel to Norman, Oklahoma for a rematch in the NCAA Super Regionals starting Friday at 6 p.m. for a chance to return to their third consecutive Women’s College World Series.
Last year, the Lady Vols lost 5-3 in heart breaking fashion to the Sooners in a 12-inning marathon game which would have given them a 1-0 series lead.
The memories of that game still remain vivid in the minds of UT coaches and players, despite not having once watched it on film.
“I haven’t looked at that film since it ended,” co-head coach Ralph Weekly said. “It was really a tough situation for us. We go up 3-0 in the 11th inning. We get the first out. I’m pretty convinced, and I think they are too, if we win that first game, we win it.”
Both teams have changed significantly since last season. Tennessee lost all-Americans Lauren Gibson, Raven Chavanne and Ivy Renfroe while reigning national player of the year, pitcher Keilani Ricketts, is missing for Oklahoma.
Ricketts is replaced this year by sophomore Kelsey Stevens who owns a 31-7 record with a 1.97 ERA.
OU’s strength, however, lies in its batting prowess. As a team, the Sooners ranked in the top 10 in the NCAA in runs and home runs per game and in slugging percentage and rank 23rd in batting average coming into the Regionals.
“They can hit, that’s for sure,” senior Madison Shipman said. “They can hit all the way through their lineup, but I think we can hit all the way through our lineup too, so I think it’s going to be a good hitting matchup between the both of us this weekend.”
Like Tennessee, Oklahoma won all three games in the Regionals including two wins against SEC opponent, Texas A&M. They come into the Super Regionals with a 30-2 record since March 15 and have only lost twice in their last 41 games at home.
The Sooners accomplished much of that without their top hitter, junior Lauren Chamberlain, who missed over a month and a half due to multiple injuries but returned as strong as ever, hitting two home runs in the Regional round.
“Girls hit the ball,” Tennessee pitcher Ellen Renfroe said. “They’re going to square it up. You just get kind of used to it. You don’t accept it, but you can’t let it get you down.”
Renfroe has not seen many balls fly over the fence lately, however. The senior started all three games in the Regionals without allowing any runs in 15 innings on the mound.
Weekly was coy on if he would start his ace for all three games this weekend, but hinted that Renfroe would have the ball in her hand every inning against the Sooners, saying, “I’m going for the win.”
Back in February, Renfroe said she she spent her offseason “building endurance and being able to go as many innings as possible,” which she said she now feels ready to do.
“You continue to have to attack the strike zone and give 100 percent every single pitch,” Renfroe said. “So I think I’m ready for that physically and mentally as well.”
As an upperclassman, Renfroe is able to draw on her experience in two previous winning experiences the NCAA Super Regionals.
The Lady Vols are 6-0 all-time in Super Regionals, including last year where they beat defending NCAA champion, Alabama.
This years is unlike any other opponent they have faced in the Super Regionals with the history between the two teams.
The tight games played last year in the national championship not only serve as motivation, but also a sense of reassurance.
“I think more than anything, it gives me a sense of confidence that we can do this,” Renfroe said. “It’s not impossible.”
