Emma Clarke sends Tennessee to WCWS semifinals with walk-off blast, downing No. 11 Texas Tech
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Emma Clarke called game.
The Lady Vols infielder sent Tennessee to the Women’s College World Series National Semifinals with a walk-off solo shot to center field, capping a thrilling battle against Texas Tech with a 2-1 victory. Better still, Clarke’s home run came in the bottom of the 9th inning after 7 innings simply wasn’t enough to decide a winner, and was the first WCWS walk-off winner in program history.
This marks Tennessee’s second straight appearance in the national semifinals. Check out the game-winner below:
Any WCWS win is massive, but this one meant a little extra for the Lady Vols, who now avoid having to play in the loser’s bracket and advance straight to Monday’s semifinals. Tennessee is now 2-0 in Oklahoma City, having downed Texas 6-3 on Thursday.
The Lady Vols and Red Raiders sat knotted at 0-0 for most of this one. Tennessee’s Taeyln Holley finally put the Lady Vols on the board in the 5th inning as Karlyn Pickens continued to pitch a gem from the circle.
Pickens finally started to look human in the 7th inning, though. Texas Tech, down to its final 3 outs, immediately loaded the bases with zero outs away. Pickens then worked a strikeout and a pop fly that very nearly ended the game as the throw home just missed the tag on Texas Tech’s Taylor Pannell (who played for Tennessee last year.)
Mere inches:
The rest is history. The Lady Vols and Red Raiders traded scoreless frames before Clarke’s solo shot sent Texas Tech to the loser’s bracket, now set to face off against No. 8 UCLA tomorrow.
Tennessee, meanwhile, will face off against the winner of tomorrow’s game between Texas and the loser of Nebraska/Alabama, which is set to start at 7 p.m. ET. Because they have yet to lose in OKC, the Lady Vols will need to be beaten twice starting Monday to miss out on the WCWS Finals.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
