Tennessee softball shuts out regional, will face SEC rival in Super Regional

Tennessee Lady Vols softball continues to tear through any and everyone that stands in their way as they get three games closer to another trip to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and a Women's College World Series appearance. 

The Lady Vols won the regular-season SEC Championship, joining Tennessee baseball and men's basketball teams in adding a conference championship to their trophy cases this spring. The Lady Vols did not lose a conference series this year and finished the year with a 19-5 SEC record. 

While Tennessee's stay in the SEC Tournament was short, they didn't let that change how they would play in the regional round. They went 3-0 over the weekend, outscoring Dayton and Virginia 21-0 over three games. 

Karlyn Pickens showed up and showed out, pitching two complete game shutouts and only allowing two hits in each game while striking out 19 total batters. Payton Gottshall also won her 20th game of the year, pitching a complete game shutout over five innings while allowing three hits and recording five strikeouts in a mercy rule win over Virginia. 

Pickens and Gottshall's domination isn't surprising to many Vols fans who have witnessed Pickens put up a 1.20 ERA this season over 163.0 innings and post a 1.21 ERA over 139.0 innings. While it's common in Knoxville, the Lady Vols were the only team to sweep regionals and not allow a single run throughout the weekend. 

The Lady Vols are two wins away from clinching their spot in the 2024 Women's College World Series in Oklahoma. The No. 3 Lady Vols will face SEC rival No. 14 Alabama, who went 3-0 in the Tuscaloosa regional. 

At the end of April, Tennessee won two out of three against Alabama in their three-game series in Tuscaloosa. The only loss was a 0-1 barn burner, and the Lady Vols outscored the Tide 7-1 in the series. There will be plenty of momentum for the Lady Vols to do the same thing when they welcome Alabama to Knoxville for the three-game Super Regional series. 

The Lady Vols will have a few days to prepare for Alabama, with the Women's College World Series Super Regional round scheduled to begin on May 23 and play through May 26, if necessary.