Things are going as well as possible for Lady Vols softball head coach Karen Weekly and her team.
Things are going as well as possible for Lady Vols softball head coach Karen Weekly and her team.
Weekly, who enters her 25th season with the Lady Vols, has accumulated talent on all corners of the diamond, and it has paid dividends through the team's first 10 games and two tournaments played.
So far, the Lady Vols have participated in two tournaments: the NFCA Leadoff Classic and the Shriners Clearwater Invitational. Both have been easy work for the Lady Vols so far, as they exit the two tournaments undefeated with a 10-0 record, and are ranked No. 1 in the country according to Softball America.
While there are other Power Five schools boasting an undefeated record, the Lady Vols have impressed. The Lady Vols were the only team in the Clearwater Invitational to finish with an undefeated record, as well as defeating a total of six ranked teams amidst the streak, which is the most through ten games in program history.
“What I'm proud of is, we're not really talking about opponents in their rankings," Weekly said after defeating Florida State to close out the Clearwater Invitational. “They know it, everybody else talks about it, and I'm proud of them for just going out there and playing Tennessee softball.”
Weekly seems to care very little about the style points of each win; she just wants to maintain the standard that they can achieve these heights and so much more if they play at this level.
For the first time in the school's history, the Lady Vols are unanimously ranked at No. 1 on all four major softball polls. All of us noticed this thanks to the Lady Vols' outscoring their opponents 76-4 on the season.
A big help to this success has been the pitching, led by none other than Senior Karlyn Pickens.
While Pickens has undoubtedly impressed, she has not been the most efficient pitcher on the roster through the first 10 games. It has been sophomore Erin Nuwer, who most recently earned SEC Pitcher of the Week honors.
“Well, we really felt like we have a very deep staff and those three (Pickens, Nuwer and Sage Mardjetko) in particular all have ace-type stuff,” Weekly said, “They've been around.”
Nuwer in particular becomes a very intriguing conversation, because it’s a given the impact Pickens will have on the team, but if the Lady Vols can unlock a second ace with the level Nuwer has pitched against, then things may get even more interesting.
Nuwer, through 20 innings and six appearances, has allowed no runs and just two hits, good for an ERA of 0.00 and a WHIP of 0.40.
Pickens has also allowed no runs, but has had a bit of a command issue at the start, with 12 walks. Nonetheless, the pitching staff has the ability to take the team far this season.
Up next for the Lady Vols is one more tournament away from home, the UAB Tournament, starting Feb. 20 against Missouri State.
The team’s first home meeting is a week later at home against Appalachian State in the Tennessee Invitational.