Tennessee softball ace Carlin Pickens returned from injury and played the entire game in the rubber game against Mississippi State, and Lady Vols coach Karen Weekly left Pickens in a new light after the win.
The Weekly said the plan is for Pickens to play four innings in Game 3 between the No. 1 Lady Vols and No. 12 Mississippi State on March 15 at Nuss Park. The Weekly said this was not due to the arm strain Pickens suffered on March 3, as they knew she was in good shape when Pickens said she felt fine the day before.
advertise
But Weekley didn’t want to ask Pickens to do too much after seven straight games of inactivity.
“We got to the end of four games – she wasn’t as sharp because of this suspension, you wouldn’t have expected her to be that sharp,” the Weekly said after the game. “Her pitch wasn’t landing, and the timing was a little difficult, but she said, ‘Look, can I stay?’ and I was like, ‘Well, gee,’ because that’s who she is.”
Pickens led Tennessee State (27-1, 5-1 SEC) to a 4-1 victory and won the road series over Mississippi State (27-4, 1-2), 2-1. The reigning SEC Pitcher of the Year got better and better as the game went on, allowing just one hit.
Pickens (7-0) threw 111 pitches, struck out six, drove in four and allowed one earned run, as MSU hit a solo home run in the third inning.
advertise
“She’s a competitor, she doesn’t care that I don’t have the best stuff. I’m going to compete, I’m going to win, and she does her best for her team, and that’s who she is,” the Weekly said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better teammate, or someone more humble and confident in myself.
“I have a lot of respect for athletes who want the ball, even if they know they’re not 100 percent.”
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Blue Sky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared in the Knoxville News-Sentinel: Why Carlin Pickens impressed Tennessee softball coach Karen Weekly
