Tennessee softball is moving on to the 2026 Women’s College World Series. The No. 7 Lady Vols defeated No. 10 Georgia 2-1 on Friday to sweep the Knoxville Super Regional and stay perfect in NCAA Tournament play.
Here’s what happened in Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in the decisive win and what’s next for Tennessee.
Sophia Knight is a Power Hitter?
Entering the Knoxville Super Regional, Tennessee’s lead-off hitter, Sophia Knight, was your prototypical top-of-the-order hitter. She consistently got on base, provided speed on the base paths and set the tone for games. What she hadn’t done was hit a single home run.
In game one on Thursday, that changed. Knight opened the bottom of the first with a solo shot to left field off the scoreboard. This proved to be critical in a 3-1 win.
On Friday, she added a second home run to her yearly total. In the top of the second with a runner on third and two outs, Knight hammered a no-doubter to right field to provide the first blow in the game. This put Tennessee up 2-0 after coming up empty-handed in the first inning despite loading the bases with one out.
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Erin Nuwer, Sage Mardjetko Shut Down Georgia’s Bats
After Karlyn Pickens went the distance in game one of the super regional, Tennessee had a pair of fresh arms to use in game two. To start, the Lady Vols went with sophomore Erin Nuwer. She went 1.1 innings while allowing two hits, no runs, two hit batters and striking out one batter. However, control issues led to Sage Mardjetko entering.
Mardjetko entered in the second and got out of the jam with a pair of strikeouts. She didn’t stop there, either.
For the final 5.2 innings, Mardjetko was terrific. She rarely found herself in trouble, and when she did allow runners, they were quickly stranded besides an unlucky triple on a diving attempt and ensuing wild pitch in the seventh. Overall, she finished with a line of 5.2 innings pitched, two allowed hits, one run, two walks and nine strikeouts.
This means that over the course of 14 innings in the super regional, Tennessee allowed just two runs against a good Georgia offense. That’ll certainly play at the next stop in OKC.
Tennessee is Headed to its 10th-Ever Women’s College World Series
This is now the 10th time in program history that Tennessee softball is headed to the Women’s College World Series. It also marks the second-straight year after the Lady Vols fell just short of reaching the championship series.
UT is the first team in this year’s tournament to punch its ticket to Oklahoma City, as well. More teams will join them throughout the weekend as all but one other game (which was suspended to Friday due to weather) begin on Friday.
Tennessee is now looking for its first-ever national title, as well. The Lady Vols have finished as the national runner-up twice, but have yet to fully climb to the top of the college softball mountain.
This year is as good as any for Tennessee to make history, though. The Lady Vols boast three elite pitchers and an offense that seems to be waking up in the NCAA Tournament.
The WCWS will begin on Thursday, May 28, with all four opening games scheduled to be played that day.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee is headed back to the Women’s College World Series for the 10th time in program history and the second year in a row. It also marks appearances in three of the past four seasons.
The first day of games is scheduled for Thursday, May 28, in Oklahoma City. Game times are noon, 2:30 p.m., 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET. The first two games are scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN, with the second pair on ESPN2. The game slot for Tennessee is yet to be announced.
