Why Tennessee softball pitching is more than Karlyn Pickens this time for WCWS
· Yahoo Sports
OKLAHOMA CITY – When Karlyn Pickens thinks about opening the Women's College World Series against Texas, the team that eliminated Tennessee softball last year, the word that comes to mind is "present."
The senior pitcher said she's focused on one batter at a time, one pitch at a time and trusting their preparation for the Longhorns, who went on to win the national championship last season after beating the Lady Vols in the semifinals.
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"(I'm) not trying to overthink anything, or think ahead, or think about things from the past," Pickens said May 27.
The No. 7 seed Lady Vols (47-10) will open the WCWS against No. 2 seed Texas (47-11) at Devon Park on May 28 (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). This year, though, Pickens has a stronger pitching staff backing her up with junior Sage Mardjetko and sophomore Erin Nuwer, who both took significant leaps from last season.
Pickens threw 22⅔ of Tennessee's 26⅔ innings during the run to the WCWS semifinals last year, and she won't have to this season. Mardjetko and Nuwer both earned starts and pitched significant innings during the regional and super regional, and Tennessee has maximized the trio's strengths all season.
On May 27, both Pickens and Mardjetko were named to the NFCA All-America first team – the third straight honor for Pickens, but the first for Mardjetko.
Nuwer said part of embracing the new dynamic going was knowing all three pitchers had different strengths. They understood how well they complemented each other.
Pitching coach Megan Rhodes Smith told Knox News in April the three pitchers "are each other's greatest gift."
Opposing teams are often left guessing who will start a game until lineups are posted with the way Tennessee has spread out innings this season, which gives the pitchers an extra edge, Pickens said.
Pickens had a different role this season, pitching 132⅓ innings compared to 226⅔ last season. Missing seven games in March with an injury played a part in that, but it was also because of how coach Karen Weekly wanted to utilize the staff.
"I would say one thing that is not always the case with pitchers, we all just love each other so much," Pickens said. "We know that, if it's our day, then it's our day to go compete, but we're also going to be supporting and celebrating each other when we're out there."
Mardjetko echoed Pickens' sentiment, and said she has more confidence in not only herself in her second WCWS, but in Pickens and Nuwer, too.
Having a staff of three talented pitchers who are bought into their role the way Pickens, Mardjetko and Nuwer have this season is "really rare for a lot of reasons," Weekly said. It's rare to have this much talent come into the program, let alone for them to develop the way all three of them have.
"In this day and age, you're enticed to kind of go where you're going to be the star all the time," Weekly said. "For them to see the value of being somewhere where you're going to develop and you're going to grow, and because you have the depth, you're going to put yourself and your team in a position to be here in Oklahoma City. And I think that's a blessing for us, and just a blessing to have three young women like this."
Tennessee softball in 2026 Women's College World Series schedule
All times Eastern
Thursday, May 28
- Game 1: Mississippi State vs. No. 11 seed Texas Tech, noon, ESPN
- Game 2: No. 2 seed Texas vs. No. 7 seed Tennessee 2:30 p.m., ESPN
- Game 3: No. 5 seed Arkansas vs. No. 4 seed Nebraska, 7 p.m., ESPN2
- Game 4: No. 1 seed Alabama vs. No. 8 seed UCLA, 9:30 p.m., ESPN2
Friday, May 29
- Game 5: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 7 p.m., ESPN2
- Game 6: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 9:30 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday, May 30
- Game 7: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 3 p.m., ABC
- Game 8: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 7 p.m., ESPN
Sunday, May 31
- Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 8 loser, 3 p.m., ABC
- Game 10: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 loser, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Monday, June 1
- Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 9 winner, noon, ESPN
- Game 12 (if necessary): Game 7 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 2:30 p.m., ESPN
- Game 13: Game 8 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m., ESPN2
- Game 14 (if necessary): Game 8 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 9:30 p.m., ESPN2
WCWS Finals
- June 3: Game 1 at 8 p.m. on ESPN
- June 4: Game 2 at 8 p.m. on ESPN
- June 5: Game 3 at 8 p.m. on ESPN (if necessary)
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: [email protected]; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee softball pitching led by Karlyn Pickens is deeper than ever for WCWS