Tennessee softball ended its season in Knoxville on Sunday, losing, 4-1, to Alabama in the final game of the Knoxville Super Regional.
No. 3 seed Tennessee (44-12) ends its season at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium following two losses to the No. 14 seed Crimson Tide (38-18). The Lady Vols have now been eliminated at home in three of the past four seasons.
Here are some takeaways from the season-ending loss.
Alabama starts hot again
Payton Gottshall struck out the first two hitters she saw, but she hit two other batters to load the bases. Riley Valentine took advantage of the opportunity, hitting a grand slam just over the left-field wall and giving the Crimson Tide an early 4-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Tennessee’s offense started slow. The Lady Vols went down in order in each of the first two innings.
Extended rain delay
After the top of the first, lightning was detected within an eight-mile radius, forcing a weather delay. The game resumed two hours and 57 minutes later with the bottom of the first inning.
Following the delay, Gottshall settled in, throwing two scoreless innings.
Lady Vols make lineup changes
Head coach Karen Weekly made some changes to the lineup. Most notably, Bella Faw came in at second base, replacing Destiny Rodriguez.
Rodriguez came in to pinch hit in the third inning, grounding out but advancing Laura Mealer from second to third.
Zaida Puni played at third base, moving McKenna Gibson to first. Giulia Koutsoyanopulos played behind the dish, and Sophia Nugent was the designated player.
Karlyn Pickens strong in relief
Karlyn Pickens relieved Gottshall at the start of the fourth inning for the Lady Vols. Facing the pressure of a four-run deficit, Pickens threw four scoreless innings to keep Tennessee within reach of the win.
On Saturday, Pickens threw 9.1 innings, only allowing one run to the last batter she faced in the 14th inning. She finishes the series with two earned runs.
Tennessee can’t score until final inning
The Lady Vols once again couldn’t hit against Alabama’s pitching. On Sunday, Jocelyn Briski threw most of the game for Alabama.
Tennessee only managed to record two hits in the first six innings. The Lady Vols put runners on the corners with no outs in the seventh and scored a runner on a bunt single.
With one out, Kayla Beaver entered for Alabama. She hit Jamison Brockenbrough, bringing up pinch hitter Alannah Leach. Leach popped out in foul territory grounded out to end the game.
End of the road
Six seniors ended their college softball careers on Sunday. Koutsoyanopulos and Gottshall played two seasons at Tennessee. Ryleigh White and Zaida Puni played three seasons for the Lady Vols.
Milloy and Rylie West each spent their entire career in Knoxville. Milloy finishes her five-year Tennessee career with 69 home runs, the most in program history.
All six seniors finish their Tennessee careers with two SEC regular-season championships, an SEC tournament championship and one Women’s College World Series appearance.
