Tennessee softball survived a narrow affair with Nebraska on Saturday.

As a result of the 3-2 win, the Lady Vols have forced a game three of the Knoxville Super Regional.

The winner of Sunday’s game will advance to the Women’s College World Series. The loser will see its season come to an end.

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For the Lady Vols, they are fighting to get to a ninth WCWS. Tennessee made the trip to Oklahoma City as recent as the 2023 campaign, but fell short in the 2024 Knoxville Super Regionals in a loss to Alabama.

The Lady Vols have made the finals series twice, but lost both sets. A national title would be the first in program history.

Karlyn Pickens got the ball in the circle for Tennessee and dominated. She broke her own record for fastest pitch in softball history at 79.4 mph. This came in the first inning as she set the tone for an effective outing. Her previous record was 78.2 mph.

She threw the entire game while allowing two runs on five hits while striking out 11. She also started game one, but was replaced early after falling into a deficit.

At the plate, it was a first inning two-run homer from Ella Dodge that did the primary damage. The other run scored was via a sac-fly.

As a team, the Lady Vols only produced three hits and walked twice.

Tennessee hit first as the designated away team and took advantage. The Lady Vols put up two runs off a Dodge home run that also scored Gabby Leach.

It didn’t take long for Nebraska to respond. The Huskers tied it up in the bottom of the frame with a two-RBI single.

In that inning, Pickens broke her own record for fastest pitch in softball history. She flashed 79.4 mph.

In the third, Tennessee retook the lead. McKenna Gibson flew out to left to score one and take a 3-2 lead.

Nebraska tried to scrape back into it in the fifth, but Kinsey Fiedler made a play at the wall to ensure no damage was done. With Pickens clamping down in the circle, there weren't many positive results in the box for the Huskers.

In the bottom of the seventh, Nebraska put two on with two outs. With both in scoring position, Tennessee got a fly out to center to win. Despite things getting hairy momentarily, it was Pickens going the distance.

Tennessee and Nebraska will play a winner-take-all game three on Sunday. First pitch has been announced for 2 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN.

The winner heads to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City. The loser has its season ended.

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