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Tennessee wins dramatic pitcher’s duel vs. Nebraska to force decisive Game 3
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Tennessee is not done at the NCAA Tournament just yet, and the Vols are now just one step away from the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.
On Friday, Tennessee opened the Knoxville Super Regional with a 5-2 defeat to Nebraska. That game featured some lackluster offense from the Vols and included a key miscue in the play that led to 2 unearned runs for the Huskers.
On Saturday, the game opened with some back-and-forth offense in the 1st inning. A hit by pitch for Gabby Leach opened the game for the Vols, and 2 batters later, Ella Dodge gave Tennessee a 2-0 lead with a home run.
Nebraska star Jordy Bahl buckled down after that, getting out of the inning without further damage. Bahl also jump-started the bottom of the frame for the Huskers with an infield single and came around to score in a 2-run inning to knot the score.
After the rocky 1st, Bahl and Tennessee’s Karlyn Pickens both locked in from the circle. McKenna Gibson eventually broke the tie with a sacrifice fly in the 3rd inning, and that would be all the offense Tennessee would need.
That’s because Pickens delivered a near-legendary outing in the circle, complete with a record-breaking pitch, snapping her own record for the fastest recorded pitch in college softball history. In fact, she did not allow a single hit by Nebraska between the 2nd and 6th innings.
The Huskers were able to threaten in the bottom of the 7th with the tying and winning runs in scoring position, but Pickens would induce a game-ending flyout to force Game 3:
Though Bahl delivered 7 solid innings, the star of this pitcher’s duel was Pickens. She went all 7 innings with just 2 earned runs allowed on 5 hits and 1 walk while striking out 11 and retiring 17 of the 22 batters faced prior to the 7th inning.
Now, the two sides will face off one more time on Sunday in a decisive Game 3 with the winner advancing to Oklahoma City and the WCWS. The start time and broadcast channel for that matchup are still TBD.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
