Tennessee softball had a chance to punch a mostly stress-free ticket to the 2026 Women’s College World Series national championship series. However, the Lady Vols instead lost 5-2 to Texas to force a winner-take-all game.
Here’s what happened in the first of two games to be played between Tennessee and the Longhorns on Monday in the WCWS.
Erin Nuwer Gets the Start in the Circle
After using only Sage Mardjetko and Karlyn Pickens in the first two games of the WCWS, Tennessee went with its third star pitcher, Erin Nuwer, to begin the game against Texas. This was her 2026 WCWS debut, though she pitched as a freshman in OKC last year.
In the first portion of her outing, Nuwer pitched two full frames without giving up a run. She allowed two hits (though one was probably an error), gave no free passes and didn’t allow any runs to cross. While she gave up some hard-hit balls, it was an effective outing that kept things squared up at 0.
That’s exactly what Tennessee needed from Nuwer. Texas had already seen Mardjetko and Pickens, and giving a different look to start the game was important.
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Texas Takes the Lead Off Sage Mardjetko, Tennessee Instantly Responds
In the third, Sage Mardjetko took over. In her first inning, she looked sharp, sitting Texas down in order.
However, in the fourth, she got caught by Reese Atwood. The Longhorns’ catcher smoked a ball to center for a home run to open up the scoring. Mardjetko worked out of the rest of the frame, though.
With just a one-run lead, the Lady Vols quickly responded. Tennessee got a two-out walk from Ella Dodge before Gabby Leach roped a triple down the right field line to score Dodge from first. This put the game back to all tied up.
Longhorns Respond to the Response
That lead didn’t last long, though. After striking out Texas’ lead-off hitter, Sage Mardjetko allowed Katie Stewart to mash a solo shot to take a 2-1 lead.
It didn’t stop there, though. Mardjetko allowed a double walk and single to load up the bases with just one out. Then, Hannah Wells hit a single off the center field wall to allow two more to score. This marked the end of the day for Mardjetko, who went 2.1 innings with six allowed hits, four runs, two walks and two strikeouts.
Erin Nuwer returned to settle things down and give Karlyn Pickens rest for the if necessary game two later today. She got a double play to get out of the frame after a single reloaded the bases.
Nuwer only allowed an additional insurance run to cross in the top of the seventh after a string of hits and a ground out to first pushed a run home.
Tennessee attempted a comeback in the bottom of the seventh thanks to a single, hit and pair of errors, but ultimately stranded the bases loaded down three runs to end the game.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee and Texas will turn around and instantly play for the all-deciding game. The winner moves on to play in the national championship while the loser’s season comes to a close. It will air on ESPN.
