By Anna Reiffer
The spotlight was on the circle when the Lady Vols took down both teams in their doubleheader on Saturday to remain undefeated on the season.
The unanimous No. 1 Lady Vols took down the Penn State Nittany Lions by a score of 3-1. The momentum was not lost in Game 2, as the Lady Vols dominated the NC Central Eagles by a score of 8-0 in a no-hitter, run-rule game in five innings.
The Lady Vols were well-balanced throughout both games, as noted by head coach Karen Weekly in her postgame press conference.
“It’s complementary,” Weekly said. “What our pitchers do feeds into what we are able to do offensively.”
Game 1 vs. Penn State: Persistence, Trials and Execution
Though coming through with the victory last night, the Lady Vols knew they wouldn’t have an easy win against the Nittany Lions.
“Penn State is a very, very, very good team,” Weekly said. “You could tell they had a game plan they were confident in.”
But the undefeatable qualities of the Lady Vols kicked in immediately. Karlyn Pickens pitched a quick three-up, three-down inning to provide her offense with a chance to take the lead.
And take the lead they did. Two quick singles led to runners on first and second before Holley tapped in a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners.
The Lady Vols found themselves with the bases loaded before the Lions hit Emma Clarke to force in Gabby Leach for the Lady Vol lead.
Offensive power continued in the second, with Bella Faw being hit with a pitch before Knight hit an absolute slapshot over the first baseman into left field for a double.
With batters on second and third, Gabby Leach doubled to send in Faw, with an out call on Knight at home. This call was later overturned on a challenge by the Lady Vols, with the officials citing plate obstruction by Nittany Lion catcher Madison Seidel.
This overturned call led to a 3-0 lead for the Lady Vols, which they maintained until the fifth inning when Nittany Lion Breanna Hanik hit an RBI single to left.
Through the adversity, Pickens held down the circle for the Lady Vols, with nine strikeouts over the entire game.
“Karlyn just digs deeper when things get tough,” Weekly said.
Game 2 vs. NC Central: Dominance in every way
Unlike the game against the Nittany Lions, this game against the NC Central Eagles appeared to be a breeze from the get-go for the Lady Vols, who came up with the 8-0, run-rule, no-hitter victory.
Scoring eight runs on nine hits through two innings, the Lady Vols forced the Eagles to go to their bullpen in the bottom of the second inning, with only one out.
“I think it goes to scoring in different ways,” Weekly said.
The Lady Vols continued to dominate in the circle, with Erin Nuwer and Sage Mardjetko combining to double Pickens’ to 18, adding nine of their own.
This is the second no-hitter of the year for the Lady Vols, and also the second that Mardjetko has been a part of. Mardjetko threw a no-hitter against Southern Illinois on Feb. 22.
“She’s just got brilliant stuff,” Weekly said. “And that’s why she gets so many strikeouts.”
Looking ahead
The still undefeated Lady Vols will be back in Sherri Parker Lee Stadium on Sunday, Mar. 1, to finish out the Tennessee Invitational against App State at 12:30 p.m.
The game will be available to stream on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app.
This coming week, the Lady Vols stay in residence at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium as they host Belmont on Tuesday and a three-game series against LSU later in the week to open conference play.