The Tennessee softball team had a huge game on tap for Saturday. After taking down the Texas Longhorns in the Women’s College World Series on Thursday, the team was due to take on Texas Tech on Saturday.
The Red Raiders were the runner-up in 2025, and they’ve received plenty of attention over the year for their expensive roster. That roster includes Taylor Pannell, who starred for the Lady Vols in 2025, so it’s safe to say this game was highly anticipated.
Well, this game was everything it was anticipated
to be.
Offense was hard to come by for both teams. Karlyn Pickens had an amazing game and allowed one hit through the first four innings. The Lady Vols had opportunities, but like the baseball team, they frequently left runners stranded.
Then, in the bottom of the fifth, the Lady Vols got on the board thanks to a Taelyn Holley bomb. It was Holley’s sixth of the season, and it could not have come at a better time. Getting contributions from the bottom of your lineup is absolutely crucial, and it looked like this was all the Vols would need.
Pickens pitched her way out of some tight situations late in the game. At one point, the Red Raiders had two runners on with Jasmy Burns up to bat. However, as Pickens has done time and time again, she successfully shut the door and kept the game 1-0.
In the seventh, it looked like the game was over when Taylor Pannell was thrown out at home. However, after a challenge, it was revealed that Pannell avoided the tag and tied the game.
We thus had some free softball in Oklahoma City, and it led to a couple more innings without offense. Finally, in the ninth, Tennessee’s Emma Clarke came up and hit a walk-off bomb to give the Lady Vols a 2-1 victory.
The win means the Lady Vols advance to the semifinals. Tennessee will now await the winner of Texas and Texas Tech out of the loser’s bracket.
