ESPN's Courtney Lyle and Madison Shipman scouting report on Tennessee softball vs Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY — Tennessee fans watching the Women's College World Series will see some familiar faces in ESPN's broadcasts. Former Tennessee softball star Madison Shipman and Tennessee alumna Courtney Lyle are part of the crew covering the tournament.

Shipman played shortstop for the Lady Vols from 2011-14. She was part of two WCWS appearances with the Lady Vols in 2012 and 2013. She has been with ESPN since 2018.

Lyle graduated from Tennessee in 2012 and worked for WBIR in Knoxville for three years before joining ESPN in 2016.

We asked Lyle and Shipman for a scouting report on the matchup between the Lady Vols (50-8) and Sooners (57-1) on Saturday (3 p.m. ET, ABC).

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What makes Oklahoma so dominant?

Lyle: "There's such a high-level softball IQ for every single player in that Oklahoma dugout. ... That's what makes Oklahoma so difficult: It could be any player. It's not just a couple of players that have to get a hit. It could literally be any player in the lineup or any player that's not in the lineup."

Shipman: "It's not just one facet of the game: They lead Division I in pitching staff ERA, team batting average and also fielding percentage. ... They've also got a really deep bench, and they can really play with their offense and be strategic as far as putting the hitters in there that are going to be the best suited to face a particular pitcher."

What are Tennessee's strengths?

Lyle: "Kiki Milloy has had a fantastic year, and she I think she's fired up not being one of those top three finalists for National Player of the Year. She's figured out how she needs to lead this team, she's figured out what to do with her at-bats, and I think she's going to be an X-factor for them."

Shipman: "All year we've been talking about the pitching staff really coming together. There was a point in the year where Tennessee was starting a different pitcher each day of a three game series, which not a lot of teams can say that they have that ability on their pitching staff. ... They're playing their best softball here at the end of the year."

What does Tennessee have to do to beat the Sooners?

Lyle: "The question, I think, for Tennessee is their pitching. ... Can Ashley Rogers get ready to go again? Can she bring her best stuff, and can Payton Gottshall back her up with her best stuff? And then, can they have clean defense behind them? It's really going to be all three of those things: Clean defense, good pitching, and then you've got to score a lot of runs if you can, and that's not an easy thing to do against Oklahoma."

Shipman: "If Tennessee can capitalize on the offensive momentum that they've been able to gain here in this postseason and try to carry that going up against Oklahoma. ... If I'm looking at that team, I'm trying to come up with the best possible game plan for the pitchers that you're going to see and go up there with the mindset that you're going to have to put up a good amount of runs."

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Courtney Lyle, Madison Shipman preview Tennessee softball vs Oklahoma