Tennessee began this softball season with the greatest start in program history.
How will the Lady Vols close? That starts this week with the Southeastern Conference tournament and continues next week with the NCAA tournament.
Karen Weekly’s 25th squad in Knoxville — she spent the first 20 seasons as co-coach with husband Ralph — roared out to a 26-0 start that included triumphs over the ranked, nonconference likes of Florida State, Nebraska, Oregon and UCLA. Tennessee went 5-1 through its first two SEC series, maintaining its No. 1 ranking nationally, before tumbling out of the top spot due to a 4-5 record against Florida, Ole Miss and South Carolina.
The Lady Vols regrouped to close out conference play 7-2, which included taking two of three games against No. 3 Alabama.
“I’ve always believed that every team has to have some adversity during the season,” Weekly said Tuesday in a press conference. “In 2024, one of the things that got us in the end was that we didn’t experience any adversity during the season. This year, we experienced adversity. We started off like nothing could ever go wrong, and then we sort of had a low point.
“Then I feel like it’s been this stock market climb back up — some steps forward and maybe one back. We’re trending where we want to trend.”
Tennessee is scheduled to open SEC tournament play Wednesday at 5 p.m. (SEC Network) against 13th-seeded Ole Miss, which blanked 12th-seeded South Carolina 2-0 Tuesday night in a first-round pairing. The Lady Vols, who are ranked No. 6 in this week’s Softball America poll with their 42-9 record, are the fifth seeds in this five-day event in Lexington, Kentucky.
Possessing an offense that ranks eighth in the league with a .294 batting average, Tennessee has reached this point largely due to a defense that is 14th nationally in fielding accuracy (97.7%) and its pitching staff that is second to nobody. The Lady Vols lead the nation with a 1.32 team earned run average, with junior Sage Mardjetko (0.99) ranking second nationally, sophomore Erin Nuwer (1.09) fourth and senior Karlyn Pickens (1.44) eighth.
Tennessee’s 18 shutout victories are third in the country, while its 8.65 strikeouts per seven innings rank fifth.
Pickens, who set an NCAA record last May against Nebraska with a pitch clocked at 79.4 miles an hour, was the first overall pick in Monday night’s Athletes Unlimited Softball League, going to the Carolina Blaze in Durham, North Carolina.
“It happened so quickly,” Pickens said. “I felt like I had just sat down and my name was being called. I was just genuinely surprised and excited, and I’m getting to go to my home state. It was a special night and an unforgettable moment.”
Said Weekly: “It was a really cool moment for Karlyn, our team and our program. She’s one in a million.”
Weekly led Tennessee to consecutive SEC regular-season titles in 2023 and 2024, winning the league tournament as well in 2023. Later this month, she will be seeking a 10th journey to the College World Series and a third in four years.
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“People say you don’t want to peak too early, and the end of February may have felt like that,” Weekly said. “Now, when you reflect on it, there were so many things we learned from the highs and the lows.
“We just need to play on our toes and not our heels this week, regardless of what happens.”
Vols win again
Eight Tennessee pitchers combined to strike out 11 batters while allowing just three hits Tuesday night as the Volunteers thumped Presbyterian 8-1 before 5,622 fans at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Tennessee improved to 32-17 overall and 13-0 in midweek games, winning those 13 by the combined score of 141-32.
Ethan Baiotto entered in the third inning and retired all eight batters he faced to earn the win.
The Vols took a 2-1 lead in the third on home runs by Blake Grimmer and Trent Grindlinger and extended the advantage to 6-1 in the sixth on two-run homers to left by Levi Clark and Garrett Wright.
Tennessee remains at home Friday, when the Vols face No. 3 Texas.
Football designations
Tennessee announced on Tuesday that its “checkerboard” game for Neyland Stadium will be the first-ever visit from Texas on Sept. 26.
The Vols will conduct their “Salute to Service” contest the week before against Kennesaw State, while Homecoming will be Nov. 7 against Kentucky.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.