By Stephen Mason
After weeks of relying on dominant pitching to find wins without much offense, the No. 7 Lady Volunteers came alive Saturday afternoon as they defeated the Virginia Cavaliers 7-5. This victory puts Tennessee just one win away from hosting the Super Regionals in Knoxville.
“I’m really proud of our team for just fighting and answering back. Every time Virginia did something, we answered right back,” head coach Karen Weekly said.
Tennessee did not waste any time getting runs on the board. After getting the first two batters on base in the bottom of the first, Elsa Morrison smashed a double out to left-center field, scoring two runs. But Tennessee was not done.
With the bases loaded and only one out, Virginia made a pitching change, bringing Taylor Smith into the game. However, Tennessee was able to get two more runs off of her before the inning was over, giving the Lady Vols a 5-0 lead.
“It was definitely a breath of fresh air, and a lot of that was keyed with our leadoff hitter getting on to start the game,” Weekly said. “That’s something that we haven’t done in a while, and when you get your leadoff hitter on in any inning, good things tend to happen.”
The early five-run lead proved to be a large enough gap for Tennessee’s pitchers to defend throughout the game. Even though it wasn’t the lockdown pitching performance that Lady Vol fans have come to expect, the Cavaliers never led or even tied the game.
Making the start in the circle was junior Sage Mardjetko, who went four innings for Tennessee.
“Having run support is obviously awesome because you do not have to be perfect, you just play the game freely and when things do not go your way, you know that your teammates are there to pick you up again,” Mardjetko said.
It was not her best outing as she gave up three runs on three hits; however, Mardjetko did enough to keep the Lady Vols in the lead.
“It doesn’t have to be pretty, and today wasn’t my prettiest performance,” Mardjetko said. “It just goes back to being a competitor and doing whatever it takes to win, keeping the mindset to flush it and move on.”
In the fifth inning, senior ace Karlyn Pickens took over for the Lady Vols and managed to slam the door on Virginia. While she did give up two more runs, she also struck out four batters, including obtaining a massive out to seal the win for her team.
“We had a plan before the game, and we told them that we would split this game … We wanted both of them to get out there and play at some point today,” Weekly said.
Every time that Virginia managed to score runs, the Lady Vols responded with an answer of their own in the following half-inning. When the Cavaliers made it a two-run game in the third inning, Emma Clarke responded with a home run in the bottom of the frame.
“It’s just been more of a sellout process, and just making sure that whenever I swing, I swing with conviction and let my stuff work,” Clarke said.
Later in the game, when the Cavaliers made it a one-run game heading into the bottom of the sixth, sophomore Mackenzie Butt sent the first pitch of the inning way over the left-field fence. This insurance run put a bow on an impressive outing by the Lady Vols’ offense.
While this was a bit of an unconventional win for Tennessee, which has recently won most of its games by just plating a few runs and falling back on outstanding pitching, this win puts the team in a prime position heading into Sunday.
Up Next: Tennessee will take on the winner of the Saturday night Indiana-Virginia game on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET in the Knoxville Regional final. A win advances the Lady Vols to the Super Regionals, but a loss would force them to play an elimination game Sunday evening.