Tennessee’s pitching has Texas picking its poison entering the WCWS semifinals

Tennessee softball one win from the championship series, faces Texas in WCWS semifinals

OKLAHOMA CITY – Tennessee softball has made it to the NCAA Women’s College World Series semifinals, and all they need is one win to take their spot in the championship series.

The Lady Vols will take on the Texas Longhorns on Monday at noon ET/11 a.m. CT at Devon Park, and can be seen on ESPN. Tennessee defeated Texas to open up the WCWS on Thursday by a score of 6-3. Elsa Morrison put the Lady Vols ahead with a three-run home run in the second inning, and Tennessee never looked back.

Texas was kept to just five hits between Sage Mardjetko and Karlyn Pickens. There weren’t a huge number of strikeouts in that one, but Mardjetko especially kept the contact manageable and the defense behind her cleaned up the Longhorns for outs.

“Just goes back to trusting yourself and the preparation that these coaches put in,” Mardjetko said after Thursday’s game. “Megan does a great job scouting our hitters, just trusting what she calls, then executing my pitch, keeping them off balance, mixing spins and locations, also throwing the change-up so they can’t feel settled in the box.”

Texas was more prepared for Pickens than they were Mardjetko, and that is what makes this Tennessee pitching staff dangerous. Teams have trouble adjusting, and often prepare more for Pickens’ high velocity than for Mardjetko, who can go from 68 mph to a 46 mph change.

“I think we were more prepared for Karlyn than we were for Mardjetko,” Texas head coach Mike White said Thursday. “They have a staff of three. I think the lowest team ERA in the country. Pick your poison.”

Now in the national semifinals, the Lady Vols have a shot at getting to the championship series for the first time since 2013. They’ve managed to stay in the winners bracket.

Tennessee will have two opportunities on Monday, if necessary, to claim that spot. But with the dynamic pitching, timely hitting and the fact they had a day of rest that Texas didn’t have, I like their chances in one game on Monday.

Prediction: Tennessee 4, Texas 2