Tennessee faces a challenge from an old foe, Texas, in today’s softball semifinals in Oklahoma City. The Vols must win two to advance to the best-of-three Women’s College World Series championship finals. Texas needs to win only one.

Sunday’s extra-innings game – 3 hours, 24 minutes in 85-degree heat – had to deplete the team. Pitching ace Karlyn Pickens threw 148 pitches (91 strikes). Texas, in the winners’ bracket, got Sunday off.

Coach Karen Weekly said her team will be ready. “There’s no tomorrow,” she said post-game. “[Pitcher] Karlyn [Pickens] is very, very durable. … Karlyn will be ready to come tomorrow and fight for her team.”

Tennessee had a balanced blend of pitching and hitting – beating UCLA 5-4 in nine innings – with both defense and offense expressing confidence that their teammates had their back. That will be tested today (6/2/25) with the first game at noon ET on ESPN and the second, if needed, to follow. Weekly will have to scour her bullpen for some help for Pickens, even if she’s as durable as Duracell.

An advantage of a 9-inning game is multiple chances for a batter to shine. Take senior Laura Mealer, for instance. Mealer knocked in two runs in the first inning to give the Vols an early lead; but she struck out swinging in the top of the fourth; grounded out in the fifth, stranding runners on second and third; and grounded out to start the eighth inning. But all was forgiven in the bottom of the ninth as Mealer stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. She lined a crisp shot to left field, scoring Taylor Pannell, and giving Tennessee the win.

Mealer had 3 RBI and Pannel had 2 with a home run in the fifth inning to lift Tennessee into the lead, 4-2.

That lead would have held but for a controversial call in the seventh inning. With two outs, UCLA’s Megan Grant hit a game-tying 2-run homer to center field. But Grant failed to step on home plate until a teammate nudged her to do so. Weekly quickly challenged the call. After review, it was determined that she did miss the plate but was assisted back to the plate before leaving the area, which is not reviewable, meaning the call was upheld and the score knotted at 4-4.

Weekly didn’t have to call her lawyer. She is a lawyer. And in the post-game interview she said, “[Grant] missed the plate. Her teammates pushed her back. That play should have been nullified.”

The veteran coach added, “Well, that was one of the most exciting, intense, emotional games I have ever been part of in all my years of coaching, and I couldn’t be more proud of our young women hanging in there, not letting what happened in the seventh inning cost us the game.”

Depending on today’s outcomes, it’s could be an all-SEC championship final: Texas Tech or Oklahoma vs. Texas or Tennessee.

Tennessee Athletics contributed photo and stats for this report.

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