Latest news with #KarlynPickens
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Women's College World Series Final preview: How Texas, Texas Tech can win their first softball championship this week
The Women's College World Series Final is set. Texas Tech will face Texas in a best-of-three series to decide the NCAA champion in women's softball. Both teams had to get through Oklahoma, the four-time defending champions, and it wasn't easy. No matter who wins, they will be a first-time champion and the toast of the Lone Star State. Here's what you need to know before you tune in beginning Wednesday night: How Texas reached the WCWS championship The Longhorns' rivalry with Oklahoma is much bigger than softball, but the strength and proximity of the two softball programs heightened the Red River Rivalry whenever it went to the softball diamond. Texas has been to the final series before. In 2022 and 2024, Texas lost to Oklahoma. Advertisement This background made Texas' 4-2 win over Oklahoma in the double elimination round of the WCWS particularly cathartic. Taking out the Sooners on the way to the final was an important step for the Longhorns. But that doesn't mean the win over Tennessee in the semifinal was easy. Texas had to overcome the Lady Vols' ace pitcher Karlyn Pickens. In the end, the 2-0 win was enough to move Texas to the WCWS final. What does Texas need to do to win it all? Lean on experience in tougher moments: Though the Longhorns haven't won the NCAA championship before, they have been in two title series and know about the pressure a team faces on the biggest stage. That experience will help them during the tougher moments of the next few games. Advertisement Use pitching smartly: It's not unusual for top softball teams to rely on one ace pitcher. The pitching motion in softball is easier to recover from than in baseball, so teams can and will use the same pitcher day after day. Texas has the luxury of having multiple strong pitcher on its roster. Teagan Kavan threw an eight-strikeout gem against Oklahoma, then served as relief in the win over Tennessee. Mac Morgan started the semifinal game and has shown she can be relied on in big moments. How Texas Tech reached the WCWS championship Like Texas, the Red Raiders had to get through Oklahoma to get to the championship series. Playing in primetime, Texas Tech and OU brought the drama in the Monday night game. Abigale Dayton faced an 0-2 count with two outs when she hit a two-run home run in the top of the seventh to tie the game. Oklahoma has shown its ability to come back before, and it looked like momentum had shifted in the Sooners' direction, keeping their hopes for a fifth consecutive title alive. But Texas Tech didn't cower. The Red Raiders used small ball to get runners on the bases, and Lauren Allred hit a perfect sacrifice fly for Texas Tech to get the walk-off win and the berth in the championship series. Advertisement Now, Texas Tech, which plays in the Big 12, has the opportunity to beat an SEC team for the title. Five of the eight teams that made it to Oklahoma City for the WCWS represent the SEC, which dominated this past season, so it is a chance to show the Big 12 still has softball firepower after the defections of Texas and Oklahoma. What does Texas Tech need to do to win it all? Let Nijaree Canady be Nijaree Canady: Thanks to an NIL package worth more than $1 million, Texas Tech attracted Nijaree Canady from Stanford to pitch and hit for the Red Raiders. It's worked, as she has an ERA of 0.86 — the best in the NCAA — and has pitched the team to victory in each game so far. Now, just let her shine on the mound, and make sure the defense has her back. Advertisement Use smart defense to stop Texas' hits: The Longhorns have the second-best batting average in the NCAA. They have faced outstanding pitchers in the SEC, and they still hit .357 as a team. That means Texas Tech needs to stay locked in, communicate well and limit errors. Women's College World Series 2025 schedule and how to watch All games will air on ESPN Game 1: Wednesday, June 4: Texas Tech vs. Texas, 8 pm ET Game 2: Thursday, June 5: Texas vs. Texas Tech, 8 pm ET Game 3 (if necessary): Friday, June 6: Texas Tech vs. Texas, 8 pm ET
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Lady Vols' season ends in Women's College World Series semifinals to Texas
Oklahoma City, OK (WATE) — For the second time in three seasons, Tennessee's stay in Oklahoma City ends in the Women's College World Series semifinals. The Lady Vols needed two wins against Texas to advance to the championship series, but were eliminated in the first game against the Longhorns with a 2-0 loss. Karlyn Pickens pitched another complete game, allowing two runs on five hits with nine strikeouts. Texas starting pitcher Mac Morgan pitched four scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out one as she picked up the win. Teagan Kavan secured the win for the Longhorns, pitching the final three innings while not giving up a single hit and recording three strikeouts. Vols season on the line after falling to Wake Forest in regional final Tennessee's Ella Dodge doubled to put a runner in scoring position with two outs in the top of the first. However, Sophia Nugent struck out to end the threat. Karlyn Pickens started her fourth game of the Women's College World Series. Texas got a runner on first with a fielding error, but Pickens retired the next three batters to keep things scoreless. A Laura Mealer single and Alannah Leach groundout put the shortstop on second base, but Emma Clarke grounded out to leave Mealer stranded. Taylor Pannell picked up Tennessee's third hit of the game in the third, but once again, the Lady Vols couldn't capitalize to bring her home. The Longhorns had a great opportunity to take the lead in the bottom of the third. Texas loaded the bases with a pair of singles and a walk. However, Pickens was able to get out of the jam with a strikeout and groundout. After arguing balls and strikes, Tennessee assistant coach Craig Snider was ejected in the top of the fourth inning. Laura Mealer followed that up with a walk with two outs, but yet another groundout kept the Lady Vols off the board. Texas broke the tie in the bottom of the fourth. Katie Stewart sent a solo shot over the left field wall to give the Longhorns a 1-0 lead. Pickens responded by striking out the next three batters to keep it a one-run game. THE LATEST: University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers news Tennessee couldn't get the offense going in the fifth, but Pickens pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the inning to keep the Lady Vols within a run. The Longhorns extended their lead in the bottom of the sixth. A walk, and a single put two runners on for Texas. A throwing error from Taylor Pannell allowed another run to come home as the Longhorns took a 2-0 lead heading into the seventh. A line drive, ground out and strikeout ended the game, and Tennessee's season as the Lady Vols were eliminated with a 2-0 loss. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Texas softball eliminates Lady Vols from 2025 Women's College World Series
No. 6 national seed Texas (54-11) defeated No. 7 national seed Tennessee (47-17), 2-0, Monday in the 2025 Women's College World Series at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Texas advances to a College World Series championship series. The Lady Vols have been eliminated. Advertisement Right-handed pitcher Karlyn Pickens started for Tennessee against the Longhorns. She pitched six innings and recorded nine strikeouts. The 6-foot-1 junior totaled 104 pitches, including 70 strikes, against 27 batters. Pickens allowed five hits, two runs (one earned) and two walks. Monday marked Pickens' fourth appearance in the 2025 Women's College World Series. She pitched 6.2 innings against Oklahoma (129 pitches), one inning versus Florida (23 pitches) and nine innings against UCLA (148 pitches). Tennessee's offense produced three hits against Texas on Monday. Ella Dodge, Laura Mealer and Taylor Pannell each recorded one hit for the Lady Vols. Dodge hit one double for Tennessee's only extra-base hit. Tennessee hitting coach Craig Snider was ejected in the fourth inning. Advertisement Katie Stewart hit a solo home run in the fourth inning for Texas. More: Karlyn Pickens sets NCAA softball record for fastest pitch all time Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Tennessee softball eliminated from Women's College World Series
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Texas softball eliminates Lady Vols from 2025 Women's College World Series
Texas softball eliminates Lady Vols from 2025 Women's College World Series No. 6 national seed Texas (54-11) defeated No. 7 national seed Tennessee (47-17), 2-0, Monday in the 2025 Women's College World Series at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Texas advances to a College World Series championship series. The Lady Vols have been eliminated. Right-handed pitcher Karlyn Pickens started for Tennessee against the Longhorns. She pitched six innings and recorded nine strikeouts. The 6-foot-1 junior totaled 104 pitches, including 70 strikes, against 27 batters. Pickens allowed five hits, two runs (one earned) and two walks. Monday marked Pickens' fourth appearance in the 2025 Women's College World Series. She pitched 6.2 innings against Oklahoma (129 pitches), one inning versus Florida (23 pitches) and nine innings against UCLA (148 pitches). Tennessee's offense produced three hits against Texas on Monday. Ella Dodge, Laura Mealer and Taylor Pannell each recorded one hit for the Lady Vols. Dodge hit one double for Tennessee's only extra-base hit. Tennessee hitting coach Craig Snider was ejected in the fourth inning. Katie Stewart hit a solo home run in the fourth inning for Texas. More: Karlyn Pickens sets NCAA softball record for fastest pitch all time Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
New York Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Pickens gets out of it
Follow our coverage of the final three teams in the WCWS from Oklahoma City Lauren Merola / The Athletic You gotta feel for Reese Atwood there, but that was a great pitch mix by Karlyn Pickens. She knows Atwood is sitting on her rise ball but tests her with ones that rise way up out of the zone. The thing about rise balls is that even if you think you're on top of it, you have to swing even higher, sometimes almost chopping at it like an axe. For Atwood, who has a handful of strikeouts and a few pop-outs in the WCWS, the adjustment had to be major and it just wasn't enough. And Pickens gets out of the bases-loaded jam. The bases are loaded for Texas' Reese Atwood, who is still searching for her first hit at OKC. Now would be quite the time to break out ... Close-up look at Tennessee catcher Sophia Nugent's eye makeup today. That was an odd challenge by Tennessee on a ball that looked pretty clearly fair upon review. The next pitch, Kaydee Bennett steals second, and it looked like in slo-mo that the tag might have gotten her just before her fingers hit second. But in a close game that has your season on the line, you don't want to throw away your second within two pitches. Texas senior Mac Morgan's season-high in strikeouts is four (April 9 vs. Texas Tech). She has three strikeouts through three innings today. B3 - Tennessee 0, Texas 0 The Vols have a hit in each inning (Taylor Pannell in the third) but nothing to show for it. Mac Morgan has done a good job for Texas working around those hits. Let's see some offense! Another inning, another three outs in four batters for Karlyn Pickens. She has one hit and two strikes so far in her third game in THREE days. I wonder how her arm's feeling. It's scoreless through two. Every time I watch Karlyn Pickens all I can think is, "This girl needs to be an NIL star." What happened to all the money QB Nico Iamaleava left on the table when he transferred away from Tennessee? Can Pickens get some of it? T3 - Tennessee 0, Texas 0 And we saw some good defense from the Vols infield in that second inning with two terrific plays from Tennessee. Leighann Goode got Texas' first hit, but Karlyn Pickens had a strikeout to end the inning, and we're headed to the third. B2 - Tennessee 0, Texas 0 Mac Morgan has faced eight Tennessee batters and allowed two hits, one in each inning, but she has kept the Vols off the scoreboard and has two strikeouts. Laura Mealer's single makes you think all the way back to ... yesterday when her walk-off single lifted Tennessee over UCLA and into this semifinal. T2 - Tennessee 0, Texas 0 Texas pitcher Mac Morgan and Tennessee pitcher Karlyn Pickens are in control after one inning. Morgan allowed one hit but struck out two. Pickens didn't allow a hit and struck out one. We're off and running! I know one thing is for sure today: The home plate umpires will have their eyes LOCKED on the plate if there are any homers today, Still seeing some uproar - supporting both sides of yesterday's deliberation after Bruins' first baseman Megan Grant's homer - all over social media. And I bet if any balls leave the park today, teammates will be pointing at that plate. There always seems to be a re-emphasis on those kinds of specific rules after they come into question in major moments. I just can't stop thinking about how some coaches, including my own, wouldn't let us celebrate around the plate for the very reason we saw yesterday. Let's just say, I expect to see a LOT of replays of that as this game begins. For as much explosive offense as there is in college softball, there's no question that a pitchers duel between Nija Canady (Texas Tech) and Karlyn Pickens (Tennessee) would be a wild fun championship series. But Texas and Oklahoma surely have other ideas -- particularly Texas, which has never won a national championship but has finished as the runner-Fuup twice since 2022. This should be a very fun semifinal day, especially if Tennessee and/or Oklahoma can force extra games. Our first game is here: Texas vs. Tennessee. Texas' young ace Teagan Kavan is staying ready. Texas beat Oklahoma 4-2 on Saturday with Kavan in the circle, only hours after finding out her grandmother had died. Kavan wears No. 17 to honor her grandmother's birthday — Nov. 17, 1928 — and said she never considered not playing, for both her teammates and her grandmother. 'No, I knew,' Kavan said Saturday. 'They told me it was my ball if I wanted it. I said, 'Yeah.' That was it.' Kavan held the No. 2 Sooners to seven hits and two runs. 'Teagan Kavan is my hero today,' teammate Joley Mitchell said Saturday, fighting back tears in the postgame news conference. The Athletic The blue uniforms are out today for the Lady Vols. One thing I've noticed lots of in a short time here — water. Water jugs. Water fountains. Water bottles. Water everywhere. It's supposed to get up to 88 degrees today. Devon Park is making sure fans keep hydrated. Texas fans lined up to greet their players as they walked onto the field. A half hour till showtime!
