Karen Weekly's elation over Karlyn Pickens' stellar victory captivates Tennessee's softball coaches!
Karlyn Pickens impressed Karen Weekly in her return from injury to lead Tennessee softball to a series win on the road against Mississippi State.
Tennessee softball ace Karlyn Pickens returned from an injury to pitch a complete game in the rubber match with Mississippi State , and Lady Vols coach Karen Weekly walked away from the win impressed in a new way by Pickens. Weekly said their plan was for Pickens to throw four innings of Game 3 between the No. 1 Lady Vols and No.
12 Mississippi State at Nusz Park on March 15. That wasn't due to the arm strain Pickens suffered on March 3 , Weekly said, because they knew she was in a good place when Pickens said she felt good the day before. But Weekly didn't want to ask Pickens to do too much after being inactive for seven games.
"We got to the end of four – she wasn't as sharp, which you don't expect her to be, because of that layoff," Weekly said after the game. "Wasn't landing her pitches, timing was a little rough, but she said, 'Look, can I stay in? ' And I was like, 'Well, heck yeah,' because that's who she is.
" Pickens led Tennessee (27-1, 5-1 SEC) to a 4-1 win, clinching the road series 2-1 over Mississippi State (27-4, 1-2). The reigning back-to-back SEC Pitcher of the Year got better as the game went on and only allowed one hit. Pickens (7-0) threw 111 pitches and tossed six strikeouts with four walks and one earned run, with MSU's lone run scored off a solo home run in the third inning.