by Jay King
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Lady Vols got through the top of the first without any damage, but with a scare, as Kennedy Powell got to first base on a Karlyn Pickens error, and Mac Barbara got an infield hit, advancing Powell to third with two outs. Amari Harper then grounded out to stop the Aggies from scoring early.
In the bottom of the first, the Lady Vols started slow, as A&M pitcher Emiley Kennedy only needed two pitches to get the first two outs on Kinsey Fiedler and Taylor Pannell. McKenna Gibson and Sophia Nugent were able to draw back-to-back walks with two outs, but any scoring chances were taken away after Destiny Rodriguez struck out. The game remains scoreless.
The top of the second started in the Aggies’ favor, as KK Dement got a leadoff bunt single that barely stayed fair. Dement then got out on a fielder’s choice, but Allie Enright got to first safely. On another fielder’s choice, Enright advanced to second, but Kramer Eschete grounded out. A Karlyn Pickens strikeout ended the top of the second.
The bottom of the second saw a similar outcome for the Lady Vols, as the first two batters, Saviya Morgan and Emma Clarke, struck out. Laura Mealer drew another two-out walk, but Ella Dodge also struck out, ending the second.
Once it got to the third inning, it was apparent that this was going to be a pitcher’s duel. Karlyn Pickens started the frame striking out Kennedy Powell and Koko Wooley back-to-back. Mya Perez drew the two-out walk, but Mac Barbara grounded out for the third out.
The bottom of the third once again was a struggle for the Lady Vols’ bats, as it was almost identical to the second, as Kinsey Fiedler and Taylor Pannell both struck out, and McKenna Gibson drew the two-out walk. The main difference, though, is that Sophia Nugent almost hit an opposite-field two-run home run to score the first runs of the game, but the ball was caught by Frankie Vrazel at the warning track to end the inning.
In the top of the fourth inning, once again, the first two batters got out, as Amari Harper struck out, and KK Dement flied out. Allie Enright drew the two-out walk, and Kramer Eschete got hit by a pitch, bringing runners to first and second. Karlyn Pickens then got her sixth strikeout to bring the Lady Vols back to the plate.
The bottom of the fourth inning gave the Lady Vols their first hit of the game on a Saviya Morgan infield single to third base with one out. Emma Clarke then drew a walk to get runners to first and second. Laura Mealer then grounded into a double play to end the promising inning. The game still remained scoreless.
The top of the fifth inning was another close call for the Lady Vols, as after back-to-back strikeouts by Karlyn Pickens, Mya Perez hit the ball to dead center field at the top of the wall. It was ruled a double and had to go under review on whether or not it was a home run. The Lady Vols caught a break as it stayed a double. A Mac Barbara groundout left Perez stranded at second base.
The bottom of the fifth started with an Ella Dodge leadoff walk. Kinsey Fiedler then bunted the ball and tried to advance Dodge to third. Both were out on the double play, despite a Karen Weekly challenge to determine whether or not Dodge dodged the tag. The challenge was unsuccessful and ended the fifth.
At the top of the sixth, the Lady Vols got a 1-2-3 inning on a strikeout, lineout, then a groundout.
The bottom of the sixth had a good start as McKenna Gibson drew the leadoff walk. Sophia Nugent then flew out, and then Amayah Doyle, who pinch-hit for Destiny Rodriguez got to first on a fielder’s choice. Doyle then advanced to third base on a wild pitch, and Saviya Morgan drew the walk to have two runners on. Emma Clarke then grounded out.
After all of the quality innings, the wheels started to come off in the top of the seventh. The Aggies got two outs to start, but a Taylor Pannell error that got Kennedy Powell safely to first. Koko Wooley then hit a double that brought Powell home. A&M got the late lead 1-0. A Mya Perez single and a Mac Barbara walk then loaded the bases, but Karlyn Pickens was able to get the last out.
In the bottom of the seventh, Laura Mealer got on base with a leadoff HBP, and Zoie Shuler, who pinch ran for Mealer, advanced to second on an Ella Dodge sacrifice bunt, but back-to-back strikeouts from Kinsey Fiedler and Taylor Pannell ended a chance to tie the game or get a walk-off win.
Despite losing, Karlyn Pickens had another phenomenal game, as she had 10 strikeouts to only three walks, and zero earned runs, bringing her season ERA under one. Head coach Karen Weekly said this about her performance, “I mean, Karlyn did everything she could. You know, it was one of those games you could tell early on it’s going to be who makes the first mistake and who capitalizes on mistake, and that’s really it offensively, because pitchers are going to make mistakes. It’s all about, are you going to capitalize on them or not?”
The Lady Vols play game two of their three game series on Friday, May second, at six pm at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in the final series of the season.