A Big-Time Bounce-Back as #8 Lady Vol Softball Downs #3 Alabama

By Sawyer Hunley

Some say that the state of a team can change within days.

That was the case for the Lady Vols, except this time – it only took a few hours.

Late on Saturday night, the Lady Vols were absolutely embarrassed by Alabama in a run-rule loss; just hours later on Sunday afternoon, they found themselves in a completely different situation.

The Lady Vols came out on top on Sunday afternoon over the Crimson Tide with a 2-0 victory. 

The star of this game has been the star of the season for the Lady Vols – Sage Mardjetko.

The junior was nearly untouchable on Sunday as she struck out six batters, only walking three, and giving up one hit in the whole contest.

“Sage (Mardjetko) is a competitor. She’s gonna give you everything she has. She’s gonna compete freely,” said head coach Karen Weekly postgame.

Mardjetko has been a surprise for this Lady Vols team, as last year the Lemont, Illinois, native was simply a solid backup player, with a 2.50 ERA over 95 ⅓ innings. 

This season, Mardjetko currently holds a 0.93 ERA and has already pitched 98 innings, with four games remaining in the regular season.

The development of Mardjetko is what has kept this team afloat this season. Without Mardjetko, there is no telling where this team would be.

“She’s (Mardjetko) proven herself and today was her game,” said Weekly.

The offense was not as abysmal as it has been over the last few weeks for the Lady Vols. They were able to push two runs across on four hits while walking twice.

Those two runs were solo home runs from junior Gabby Leach and sophomore Emma Clarke.

While the two home runs were great for today’s game, going forward, the Lady Vols will have to put more pressure on pitchers in each at-bat.

A home run here and a home run there won’t win you big-time games in the postseason. Tennessee will have to put constant pressure on the opposing pitchers with base hits, walks, and long balls.

Now the Lady Vols will turn their attention to a major matchup on Monday night as they will play one more game against the Crimson Tide of Alabama.

This time it’s a rubber match.

The last time the Lady Vols faced the Tide in a rubber match was in May of 2024 in the Super Regionals in Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.

Alabama won that game by a score of 4-1, punching their ticket to the Women’s College World Series. 

Up Next: On Monday night, the Lady Vols will look for revenge over the Crimson Tide as first pitch is slated for 7:00 PM ET.

The game will be nationally televised on SEC Network.