OKLAHOMA CITY – Seventh-seeded Tennessee rallied behind a dominant outing from Sage Mardjetko on Thursday afternoon at Devon Park, defeating No. 2-seeded Texas, 6-3, in the opening round of the Women’s College World Series.
Mardjetko continued her All-America campaign by limiting the Longhorns through four innings of shutout ball, allowing just one hit with one strikeout and two walks. The win marked her 15th victory of the season.
Elsa Morrison also delivered a standout performance in her Women’s College World Series debut, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs. The catcher launched a three-run homer in the second inning on the first pitch she saw and later added a double off the top of the wall.
With the victory, Tennessee improved to 174-11 when scoring three or more runs since the start of the 2023 season. The Lady Vols have also won 64 straight games when leading by at least three runs.
After both starting pitchers opened the game with scoreless first innings, Morrison gave Tennessee the lead in the second with a three-run blast to center field. Alannah Leach and Makenzie Butt both reached on a hit-by-pitch and a walk prior to the homer.
Tennessee (48-10) added to its lead in the fifth inning when Taelyn Holley scored on a wild pitch. Texas answered with a run in the bottom half after Victoria Hunter avoided a double play, allowing Ashton Maloney to advance to third. Maloney scored on an errant throw to first base.
The Lady Vols pushed the lead back to four runs in the sixth when Zoie Shuler scored on an RBI single from Gabby Leach.
Texas trimmed the deficit to 5-3 in the sixth after Leighann Goode hit a two-run homer, but Tennessee responded in the seventh with an Emma Clarke sacrifice fly that brought home Holley for her second run of the day.
Karlyn Pickens entered in relief to begin the fifth inning and closed out the game. The All-American right-hander allowed three runs – two earned – on four hits while striking out two to earn her seventh save of the season. Pickens sealed the win by inducing three consecutive groundouts in the seventh inning.
DUE UP
Tennessee advances to the winners’ bracket of the Women’s College World Series and will face Texas Tech on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET on ABC.
