Tennessee softball went on the road to begin SEC play over the weekend.
The No. 7 Lady Vols took a trip to No. 13 Georgia for a three-game set after not playing any mid-week games.
Here's what happened.
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March 7: at Georgia (W, 6-1)
Tennessee opened the series with a dominant win. The Lady Vols got elite pitching and the bats did their job to win comfortably.
In the circle, Karlyn Pickens went the distance. She threw seven frames while giving up just two hits and no earned runs with an error leading to the Bulldogs' lone score.
At the plate, nine hits resulted in six runs. Home runs were hit by Sophia Nugent and Gabby Leach.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Karlyn Pickens - 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, 1 HBP, 118 NP
March 8: at Georgia (L/9 innings, 4-3)
Tennessee and Georgia went to extras in game two. Ultimately, the Bulldogs walked it off with a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the ninth.
The Lady Vols once again got good pitching. Sage Mardjetko got the start but allowed three runs before being pulled in the second inning. Erin Nuwer came out of the bullpen and pitched three scoreless frames before Pickens entered.
She went 4.2 innings before allowing the winning run to cross for her first allowed run of the game.
At the plate, Tennessee recorded seven hits for three runs. No ball left the yard for the Lady Vols and the only extra base hit went to Taylor Pannell on a double. This hit was responsible for all of Tennessee's runs.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Taylor Pannell - 4 AB, 2 H, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 2B
March 9: at Georgia (W, 5-2)
This made way for a series-deciding game three on Sunday. The Lady Vols got the job done to take the top-15 clash.
Mardjetko got the ball again to start. After a shakey outing on Saturday, she went the distance while giving up five hits for two runs in her complete game.
McKenna Gibson left the park for a home run which grabbed a multi-run lead that the Lady Vols didn't surrender. That was one of just five hits that resulted in five runs.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Sage Mardjetko - 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, 114 NP
Up next
- Tue: No. 16 Duke (6 p.m. ET)
- Fri: UConn (6 p.m.)
- Sat: UConn (2 p.m.)
- Sun: UConn (12 p.m.)
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