Tennessee’s hopes for a deep run in the NCAA softball tournament depend heavily on the talents of Southeastern Conference pitcher of the year Karlyn Pickens.
So far, so good.
The 6-foot-1 sophomore from Weaverville, North Carolina, allowed just two hits in seven innings Friday afternoon as the Lady Volunteers blanked Dayton 3-0 before a Knoxville Regional crowd 0f 1,934 inside Sherri Lee Parker Stadium. It was the first game in eight days for Tennessee (41-10), which received the NCAA tournament’s third overall seed after losing in the SEC tourney quarterfinals to LSU.
“It was good to get off to a good start,” Lady Vols head coach Karen Weekly said in a news conference. “The postseason is just about winning. It doesn’t matter how you do it. I thought our pitching was phenomenal.
“Karlyn was really on, and I thought we made some really nice defensive plays behind her.”