Tennessee’s trip to the softball College World Series ended June 1 with two losses in the semifinals to the team’s nemesis, Texas, the defending national champions. Tennessee ended the season at 49-12.
The final loss closed out the career of pitcher Karlyn Pickens, who went the distance for Tennessee, allowing four runs on seven hits with three walks and six strikeouts. Pickens, a senior, was selected No. 1 overall by the Carolina Blaze in the 2026 AUSL College Draft.
Tennessee upset Texas 6-3 in Thursday’s opening game. And beat Texas Tech 2-1 on Saturday. But on Monday, the magic ended as Texas won the first game 5-2 and then won 4-0 in the winner-take-all second game. Texas advanced to face Texas Tech (which came up through the loser’s bracket) in the best-of-three championship. First game is Wednesday, June 3; game two will be June 4 and game three (if necessary) will be on June 5. All games start at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN.
