KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — For the 10th time in program history, the No. 8 [7] Tennessee Lady Vols are headed to the Women’s College World Series.
Sophia Knight’s two-run home run and a dominant relief outing from Sage Mardjetko powered Tennessee to a 2-1 victory over No. 16 [10] Georgia on Friday at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium, clinching the Knoxville Super Regional and a return trip to Oklahoma City.
Mardjetko (14-2) was outstanding in relief, tossing 5.2 innings while striking out nine and limiting the Bulldogs to two hits. The junior right-hander helped Tennessee improve to 47-10 on the season.
Tennessee’s only offense came in the second inning when Knight followed up her solo homer from Thursday’s opener with a two-run blast to right field. The junior outfielder now has two home runs this season and three in her collegiate career.
Georgia (41-20) struggled to generate offense throughout the afternoon, finishing with four hits.
The Bulldogs threatened in the seventh inning when Emily Digby led off with a triple down the right-field line. Mardjetko responded by inducing a pop-up to Ella Dodge for the first out before a wild pitch allowed Digby to score and cut the deficit to 2-1. Mardjetko quickly regained control, striking out the next batter before inducing a game-ending groundout to Emma Clarke.
The Lady Vols have now secured consecutive Women’s College World Series appearances for the first time since 2012-13. Head coach Karen Weekly has led Tennessee to all 10 WCWS appearances in program history.
Tennessee will face the winner of the Austin Super Regional in the opening round of the Women’s College World Series. The Lady Vols begin play in Oklahoma City on Thursday, with game time and TV designations to be announced later.
