The No. 7 Lady Vols clinched their conference series against No. 25 South Carolina with a 4-2 win on Saturday evening at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium, according to an April 4 announcement.
This result is significant as it strengthens Tennessee’s position in the standings and continues their strong performance this season.
Karlyn Pickens led the Lady Vols from the circle, pitching 3.2 innings in relief, striking out five batters and allowing just two hits. With this outing, Pickens improved her record to 10-4 for the campaign. Sage Mardjetko started for Tennessee and pitched 3.1 innings, giving up two hits and striking out three while allowing two runs—one of them earned.
South Carolina’s Nealy Lamb took the loss after giving up one run on one hit in one inning of work, dropping her season record to 4-7. The Lady Vols broke through offensively in the second inning when Maddi Rutan reached on a fielder’s choice to bring home the first run, followed by Gabby Leach scoring another run on a fielder’s choice before Ella Dodge tripled to score again.
Alannah Leach extended Tennessee’s lead with a solo home run to center field in the third inning—her eighth of the season—and finished with two hits from three at-bats. South Carolina managed four hits overall but scored both their runs in the fourth inning off a pair of doubles.
Relief pitchers Emma Friedel and Josey Marron contributed for South Carolina before Jori Heard closed out with three scoreless innings.
Looking ahead, Tennessee will host ETSU at home on Tuesday evening, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m., broadcast live on SEC Network Plus.
