With an amazing 23-0 start for the Tennessee Softball team, they are still the No. 1-ranked team and continue to dominate college softball. The Lady Vols completed an impressive sweep of No. 17 LSU, winning the three-game series 5-0, 11-6, and 8-5. Tennessee was without star pitcher Karlyn Pickens, who is dealing with an arm injury. However, the injury isn’t expected to sideline her for long, and she should be back in the circle soon. Even without their ace, the Lady Vols managed to sweep LSU, making the series victory even more impressive.
On Sunday, junior outfielder Gabby Leach hit her fourth home run of the season (and third of the series) in walk-off fashion, hitting a three-run bomb over the right field wall, giving Tennessee the comeback victory over the Tigers.
NEW: College Softball Top 25 via @SoftbalAmerica🥎
— On3 (@On3) March 9, 2026
Do you agree?🤔https://t.co/9dWbANtbj6 pic.twitter.com/ll7bjVIZXZ
Head coach Karen Weekly praised the Tennessee players during her postgame press conference. She said:
"I think it's big for our team, and they should take a whole lot of pride in that in winning an SEC series without Karlyn (Pickens) available, and especially our pitching staff takes pride in that. It's kinda the reason we trained them the way we did, so everyone be ready, but also our offense ended up stepping up in a big way this weekend. What I'm proud of is we haven't necessarily been put in some of these situations at this point, and every situation that came at us, we responded and answered the bell. "
No. 1 Tennessee swept LSU without Karlyn Pickens. Head coach Karen Weekly shares her thoughts. pic.twitter.com/GK0ay3e46v
— Fastpitch Wire Softball (@FastpitchWire) March 9, 2026
A big week ahead for Tennesse softball
The Lady Vols have five big games ahead this week as they aim to remain undefeated. They’ll first face Austin Peay and Lipscomb in midweek non-conference matchups on Tuesday and Wednesday, before traveling to Starkville for their first road SEC series against No. 13 Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are 24-2 this season and bring a strong test, having split a series with No. 25 Clemson earlier this year.
Digging Deeper, it should be a big test for both Tennessee and Mississippi State to see how they stack up against each other. Tennessee can see how they stack up on the road, and the Bulldogs get their first taste of elite competition.