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No. 1 Texas drops series to No. 5 Tennessee after 'nightmare' first inning
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AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas softball head coach Mike White said his team couldn't do anything right in the first inning against No. 5 Tennessee on Sunday, leading to a 4-1 loss at McCombs Field.
The loss gave the series victory to the Lady Vols 2-1 after they claimed Saturday's game 3-1. Top-ranked Texas won the opener Friday 4-0.
While no plays were counted as official errors, miscommunication on defense by Texas led to Tennessee's first run of the game. After starting pitcher Teagan Kavan walked and hit a batter, the Longhorns let a popped-up bunt fall to the dirt for an infield single, loading the bases.
Tennessee's Sophia Nugent hit a high pop-up to the right of home plate in foul ground, and catcher Reese Atwood and first baseman Joley Mitchell went after it. They collided in front of the dugout with Atwood making the play, but no one covered home plate. That allowed Tennessee's Kinsey Fiedler to tag up and score from third.
Kavan struck out the next two hitters to limit the damage, but the miscues that led to the opening run stuck with White.
"Well, the first inning was a nightmare; it was a really tough one," he said. "And we were facing really tough pitching today, so you just can’t do that."
The Longhorns plated one in the bottom half of the inning on an Atwood double, but that was all the offense they'd get off the Lady Vols' starting pitcher, flamethrower Karlyn Pickens. She consistently throws in the mid-70s and set a world record for the fastest pitch ever at 78.2 mph March 26, and she kept the potent Longhorns offense in check.
Pickens scattered six hits with 10 strikeouts and a walk in a complete-game performance. She threw 112 pitches, 71 for strikes, and got the Longhorns to hit into egith groundouts. White said his team needs to have better plate discipline moving forward.
"I think our strike zone management has to be a little bit better, but 75 miles per hour will make you kind of press a little bit, so we have to understand that as well," he said.
Ashton Maloney had two hits for Texas on Sunday. Taylor Pannell and McKenna Gibson had three hits each for the Lady Vols.
Texas (39-5, 11-4 SEC) hosts No. 6 Louisiana State in a pivotal SEC series starting Thursday.
