Lady Vols look ahead to Texas Tech showdown following opening win over Texas
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Lady Vols softball team has prided themself on elite pitching and solid defense all season. In Tennessee’s Knoxville Super Regional win over Georgia, the Lady Vols scored just five runs in two games combined. All five runs came off home runs, leaving little offensive variety.
“Good offense this time of year is about stringing things together,” Lady Vols head coach Karen Weekly said after Thursday’s win.
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That is what Tennessee accomplished in its Women’s College World Series opening win over the Texas Longhorns. The Lady Vols scored six runs on seven hits, with Elsa Morrison starting things with a three-run home run in the second inning.
“What an awesome at-bat,” Weekly said. “Elsa is opportunistic, she gets her pitch, and she goes.”
Morrison’s seized opportunity allowed Sage Mardjetko to pitch without the added pressure of having to outduel Teagan Kavan to keep Tennessee in the game. Still, she shined with 4.0 innings of shutout ball while allowing just one hit, striking out one and walking two.
Tennessee made things happen and did not struggle to capitalize when they had their chances. They finished Thursday hitting .500 with runners on and with runners in scoring position, which was a much better outcome than in some recent games.
“This is the time of year where everyone is going to have good pitching,” Weekly said. “It’s about everybody being productive in their at-bat.”
Now, the Lady Vols will see the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday. They will take that same focus and hope for a great outcome against NiJaree Canady and Kaitlyn Terry. The Red Raiders are coming off an 8-0 five-inning run-rule victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Thursday, where they only allowed two hits and threw a total of 54 pitches, with Terry needing just seven.
Canady and Terry present a different challenge, but confidence should be there for Tennessee after getting to Kavan for three runs on three hits in three innings and placing three more on four hits off Citlaly Gutierrez. This is an opportunistic team at the plate, and they make pitchers pay for mistakes.
Tennessee can be aggressive at the plate, which makes them dangerous for pitchers who like to try to get ahead with a good strike. However, the Lady Vols are also good at staying in the count when they are locked in.
Getting on base via walks is something they’ve done 213 times this season, which places them 42nd in the nation. Texas Tech’s pitching staff has issued 104 walks, which ranks 16th in the nation, and emphasizes stinginess. If Tennessee could work a few to help put together good innings of production, that could be some of the most important at-bats of the game.
A keyword this time of the year is response, and the Lady Vols have done a tremendous job of that. If the Red Raiders put a run or two on the board, this Tennessee squad has shown the ability to answer in their turn at the plate.
But the elite pitching and solid defense that carried Tennessee all season should have plenty to say about whether it ever comes to that.
