Tennessee Softball Scores 7 in First Inning, Eliminates Florida in WCWS Blowout

Credit: SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON www.si.com/onsi/softball

In an 11-3 run-rule victory against Florida, Tennessee came out looking like a whole new team after allowing a walk-off to Oklahoma on Thursday. 

With the decision not to start ace Keagan Rothrock, a seven-run, first-inning explosion from the Lady Vols established dominance, and the Gators hardly had a chance to catch up. 

Gabby Leach started the action by tripling down the third baseline, and Taylor Pannell brought her home with an RBI single. With no outs and the bases loaded, Florida already had to make a pitching adjustment, taking Kara Hammock out and putting Ava Brown in. 

Brown walked in a run, Laura Mealer had an RBI, and Alannah Leach ripped a bases-clearing double before the Gators could record their first out, but only because Emily Clarke hit a sacrifice fly. The Vols batted through the lineup by the time the inning was over. 

And the runs just did not quit. In the second, Sophia Nugent and McKenna Gibson ripped back-to-back solo shots, prompting another pitching change. Katelynn Oxley took over, and with miscues by the Florida defense, another RBI came in during the third inning. 

After such a devastating loss to the Sooners on the opening day of the World Series when Karlyn Pickens gave up the walk-off homer with two outs in the seventh, the Lady Vols certainly showed up for each other and made all the necessary adjustments to live another day. 

“These guys said two things in the locker room last night,” head coach Karen Weekly said in the postgame press conference. Number one, they said, Karlyn, it’s not your fault, and number two, Karlyn, we got your back. They showed tonight they definitely had each other’s backs, and certainly had Karlyn’s back. I’m just glad we’re going to get to play another day."

Pickens started at the top of the first, but with such a large lead, Weekly took her out in the second to presumably save her arm. Sage Mardjetko entered and held the Gators to no hits until Reagan Walsh and Korbie Otis ripped back-to-back shots. 

Erin Nuwer entered the circle to stop the momentum and after the Vols added an RBI in the fourth to put the run rule in effect, she held off the Gators to end the game in five innings.