Karlyn Pickens dominates in Tennessee softball's shutout win over Dayton in NCAA regional
Sophia Nugent gave Tennessee softball the insurance it needed Friday.
The junior catcher sent a ball through the left side of the field to score Taylor Pannell in the fifth inning against Dayton for the third run of the game at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. Tennessee has won every game this season it has scored three or more runs in, and that trend held up against the Flyers.
The No. 3 seed Lady Vols beat Dayton 3-0 to open the NCAA Tournament. It's their 20th shutout of the season and the 11th for sophomore pitcher Karlyn Pickens (20-6), who tossed her 14th complete game of the season.
"Obviously, postseason is just win," Tennessee coach Karen Weekly said. "Just win, doesn't matter how you do it, and we got the W today. I thought the pitching was phenomenal, Karlyn was really on."
Tennessee (41-10) will face Virginia (33-18) in the winner's bracket at 1 p.m. Saturday in the double-elimination tournament. Virginia beat Miami (Ohio) 7-0 in the first game Friday. Dayton (33-20) and Miami (44-8) play an elimination game at 3:30 p.m.
A Tennessee victory puts the Lady Vols into the championship game on Sunday and would have to lose twice to be eliminated.
Karlyn Pickens dominates, logs 12 strikeouts
Things didn't start well for Dayton. The first three batters all struck out swinging, and Pickens ended the top of the first inning in just 12 pitches.
It was three up, three down in three of the next four innings, and Pickens only gave up two singles in the third inning. But the SEC Pitcher of the Year wasn't rattled and went right back to striking out the Flyers.
"I think (I have) just a different level of maturity, being able to bounce back from that and reset and gain back my focus rather than dwell on what happened," Pickens said. "Just keep doing my job and focusing on pounding the zone."
Pickens, who was recently named a top-10 finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, finished with 12 strikeouts and two hits allowed in seven innings. It's the seventh time this season has has logged 10 or more strikeouts, and Weekly said Pickens is still "nowhere near her potential."
Why Destiny Rodriguez's home run wasn't a home run
Sophomore infielder Destiny Rodriguez got Tennessee on the board first when she hit a home run over the left field wall. There were two runners on base in the second inning when she hit the home run.
But Giulia Koutsoyanpulos, who singled right before Rodriguez, went back to first base to tag up, and Rodriguez ended up passing her on the baseline.
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The play resulted in a base-running error. Rodriguez was counted as out and her hit wasn't counted as a home run. Instead, it was counted as a two-run single for Rodriguez.
"Unfortunately for her, didn't end up being three runs. But she kind of showed the way there, because we hadn't really put a good swing on it yet," Weekly said. "I thought she was the first to make a really good adjustment, and that's important when ... she was hitting eight today. So that's just that ability to watch what's happening ahead of you."
NCAA Tournament Knoxville regional
Saturday
Game 3: Tennessee vs. Virginia, 1 p.m.
Game 4: Miami (Ohio) vs. Dayton, 3:30 p.m.
Game 5: Tennessee-Virginia loser vs. Miami-Dayton winner, 6 p.m.
Sunday
Game 6: Tennessee-Virginia winner vs. G5 winner, TBD
Game 7: G6 winner vs. G6 loser (if necessary), TBD
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Karlyn Pickens, Tennessee softball shuts out Dayton in NCAA regional win
