Why Karlyn Pickens’ return impressed Tennessee softball coach Karen Weekly

Tennessee softball ace Karlyn Pickens returned from an injury to pitch a complete game in the rubber match with Mississippi State, and Lady Vols coach Karen Weekly walked away from the win impressed in a new way by Pickens.

Weekly said their plan was for Pickens to throw four innings of Game 3 between the No. 1 Lady Vols and No. 12 Mississippi State at Nusz Park on March 15. That wasn’t due to the arm strain Pickens suffered on March 3, Weekly said, because they knew she was in a good place when Pickens said she felt good the day before.

But Weekly didn’t want to ask Pickens to do too much after being inactive for seven games.

“We got to the end of four – she wasn’t as sharp, which you don’t expect her to be, because of that layoff,” Weekly said after the game. “Wasn’t landing her pitches, timing was a little rough, but she said, ‘Look, can I stay in?’ And I was like, ‘Well, heck yeah,’ because that’s who she is.”

Pickens led Tennessee (27-1, 5-1 SEC) to a 4-1 win, clinching the road series 2-1 over Mississippi State (27-4, 1-2). The reigning back-to-back SEC Pitcher of the Year got better as the game went on and only allowed one hit.

Pickens (7-0) threw 111 pitches and tossed six strikeouts with four walks and one earned run, with MSU’s lone run scored off a solo home run in the third inning.

“She’s such a competitor that she doesn’t care (that) I don’t have my best stuff. I’m going to compete and I’m going to go win, and she put herself out there for her team, and that’s just who she is,” Weekly said. “There’s not a better teammate or somebody with more humility, but also more confidence and belief in herself.

“I just have a tremendous amount of respect for an athlete who wants the ball even when they know they’re not at 100%.”

Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social‬. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why Karlyn Pickens impressed Tennessee softball coach Karen Weekly

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