They might be done with classes on campus, but the University of Tennessee softball players still have some assigned reading to complete. The Lady Vols have continued their book club tradition.
They are reading “The Twin Thieves” by Steve Jones and Lucas Jadin this season, which is a story about how great teams are built by great leaders. It follows the Westlake Aviators, a football team that realizes its greatest challenge isn’t beating an opponent but rising above the fear of failure and judgment.
Graduate senior outfielder Kiki Milloy referred to the book during UT’s NCAA Regional last weekend at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
“It talks about these two boxers that they’re both getting tired and it kind of just talks about how you just keep throwing punches,” Milloy says. “Like, no matter what, you just keep throwing punches, and all the teams here have had long seasons and today that was our goal is like punch to kill and keep throwing punches.”
The Lady Vols landed a TKO in the opening rounds of the tournament, sweeping through three teams without allowing a single run. Co-aces Karlyn Pickens and Payton Gottshall allowed only seven hits total while beating Dayton once and Virginia twice to advance to the Super Regional.
No. 3 Tennessee (43-10) hosts No. 14 Alabama (36-17) in an all-SEC Super Regional this weekend. The first game will be at 4 p.m. Friday (ESPN2). Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. If necessary, Game 3 will be Sunday.
Pickens, Gottshall formidable
The Lady Vols won the regular-season series against the Tide in Tuscaloosa, winning the first two games before dropping the finale.
Tennessee is trying to advance to the Women’s College World Series for the second consecutive season for another chance at the program’s first national title. The seniors on the team realize the urgency to get back, and most remember losing at the regional stage during their first two years in the program in 2021 and 2022.
“It was heartbreaking, and so we made a commitment to never having that feeling again,” UT senior Zaida Puni says. “Being able to play these last few weeks at home is just super awesome. It’s just special to be here still in front of all the fans and have a chance to do it for one more weekend.”
Pickens and Gottshall are the top pitching duo in the country. Pickens, a sophomore, ranks No. 5 in the nation in ERA (1.20), and Gottshall, a graduate senior, ranks right behind at No. 6 (1.21). Pickens has 198 strikeouts in 163.0 innings pitched. Gottshall has 155 strikeouts in 139.0 IP.
The Lady Vols have the luxury of mixing and matching them between starts or within games. Once Ashley Rogers graduated, the two welcomed the extra workload and pressure that would be on their shoulders this season.
“I think that’s been a key for us,” UT head coach Karen Weekly says. “They both want the ball every day. They show up for their team every day. Literally, there hasn’t been one day this year that either of them said, ‘yeah, I’m not really feeling it’ or ‘I’m under the weather’ or anything like that. Whatever they have that day, they’re going to bring their absolute best and it’s really inspiring for our team.”
Tide present familiar foe
Alabama’s offense hasn’t been prolific the last two seasons, but the pitching has been solid. The difference in the Super Regional will likely come down to if Tennessee’s bats will continue to produce like they did in the final two games of the regional. The Lady Vols have the depth and versatility to be among the top run producers in the country.
Although the Lady Vols know what they are getting in Alabama, Weekly doesn’t see the familiarity as an advantage or disadvantage.
“Alabama is going to be different than they were last time we saw them and so are we. And then, they’re going to be different the next day,” she says. “So you can’t just sit there and go, ‘Oh, we’ve seen them. We know what to expect.’ You have to prepare like it’s the first time you’re seeing somebody and I think (our players) have done a really good job of that this year.”
The Lady Vols will spend time this week reviewing the scouting reports and watching film to prepare for the Super Regional. But they will also be taking lessons from the book they are reading.
“In the postseason, the tougher team is going to win,” Weekly says. “... and like Kiki said, keep throwing punches, and punch to kill every time. We did that and we need to keep doing it. The results aren’t always going to be the same, but that has to be our mentality every single pitch.”