No. 7 Tennessee Faces No. 2 Texas With Title Berth on the Line

Image: Drew Garrison/Tennessee Athletics

By Aidan Sidoti

OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 7 Tennessee is one win away from its first national championship appearance since 2013 after junior second baseman Emma Clarke delivered a ninth inning walk-off home run to beat No. 11 Texas Tech 2-1 on Saturday in Oklahoma City. 

The Lady Vols enter today’s semifinal at 2-0 in the Women’s College World Series with wins over No. 2 Texas in the opener 6-3 and the extra inning thriller against the Red Raiders to move ever closer to the program’s first national title.

In the first meeting with the Longhorns, junior right-hander Sage Mardjetko was dominant. The Lemont (Ill.) native allowed just one hit across four scoreless innings before fellow All-American Karlyn Pickens took over in the fifth and closed out the win to put Tennessee in the winners side of the bracket.

Texas now faces the uphill climb. The Longhorns must beat Tennessee twice today to advance to the national championship, while the Lady Vols need just one win to punch their ticket.

First pitch is set for Noon ET on ESPN, with an if necessary game two scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET.