Skip to main content
Join Now

2026 WCWS: Morrison, Mardjetko star in Tennessee's win over Texas

Screenshot 2024-07-31 at 7.46.34 PMby: Brady Vernon05/28/26BradyVernon

The Tennessee blueprint this season has been to trust its top-end pitching staff and find the big hit. That was exactly the case in the Lady Vols’ 6-3 win over Texas on Thursday at the Women’s College World Series.

The offense came early against the reigning WCWS Most Outstanding Player, Teagan Kavan. The Texas ace surrendered back-to-back free passes, presenting an early chance to freshman Elsa Morrison, and she didn’t miss. Morrison crushed the first-pitch riseball 247 feet for a three-run homer in the second inning.

Morrison nearly hit another in the sixth inning, lining a ball off the top of the wall in right field. Zoie Shuler, Morrison’s pinch runner, then scored on a Gabby Leach single.

“Everything we prepared for was that upspin speed, trying to win the belt today,” Morrison said. “We had talked about being aggressive early in the count because we knew she would want to try and get up on us early. Just working down through the ball.”

Tennessee head coach Karen Weekly also touched on Morrison’s growth through the season.

It’s really her maturity. The season hasn’t been easy for her,” Weekly said. “It’s not like she’s batted .400 all year. You can tell everything about somebody when they’re struggling. When you watch her to continue to work, there’s no drama with her. She’s just really analytical about things. She’s an engineering major. She just kept going to work.

She’d show up the same every day. Watching her mature from the beginning of fall to now has been really, really cool. She used to take a lot of pitches early and get behind. She responded to the challenge. If they’re going to throw you something good early, you need to get on it, and you’re going to get results. Today that’s what she did. She got a pitch right away. She drove it for us.

She doesn’t play like a freshman. She has a full season under her belt. Her maturity has always been ahead of her age group.”

Tennessee threatened again in the third against Kavan, putting runners at second and third with one out, thanks in part to Ella Dodge’s evasiveness. Kavan kept the deficit at three after inducing a groundball that cut the run at home and an inning-ending strikeout.

It was clear the Lady Vols’ plan was to attack early against Kavan. Tennessee’s first inning only lasted five pitches, but the aggressiveness paid off in the end.

Citlaly Gutierrez came in to start the fourth and was efficient. Though she got a bit wild in the fifth. Taelyn Holley led off the frame with a single and later scored thanks to a pair of wild pitches to add an insurance run.

With the embarrassment of riches in the bullpen, Karen Weekly started Sage Mardjetko, who delivered a quality start. The Tennessee All-American allowed one hit over four innings. Texas couldn’t barrel her up at all and struggled with her off-speed that drops under 50 MPH. Mardjetko induced five flyouts and five groundouts.

Weekly then called in Pickens to close out the game with a four-run lead. Although it got off to an auspicious start for her. Hannah Wells led off with a single and Ashton Maloney reached on a swinging bunt. Pickens managed the situation, limiting Texas to one run that came on a throwing error and avoiding Katie Stewart, who was left on deck.

Texas scored again on Pickens. Leighann Goode took a Pickens deep on an inside dropball for a two-out, two-run home run to cut the deficit in half. Both times Pickens allowed runs, her offense picked her up in the sixth and seventh innings, answering with a run of its own. The two-time SEC Pitcher of the Year closed things out in the seventh with a clean frame.

Mardjetko and Pickens kept the first three Texas hitters in the lineup, and they combined to go 0-for-8.

“Yeah, just goes back to trusting yourself and the preparation that these coaches put in. (Pitching coach) Megan (Rhodes Smith) does a great job scouting our hitters, just trusting what she calls, then executing my pitch, keeping them off balance, mixing spins and locations, also throwing the changeup so they can’t feel settled in the box.”

Texas head coach Mike White discussed the challenges of preparing for a pair of pitchers: Mardjetko, who can throw her changeup at 50 MPH, and Pickens, who can throw 75-plus.

“We have pitching machines now. We crank those things up,” White said. “I’m pitching from about 25 feet, letting it go. You have to pick one or the other. I think we were more prepared for Karlyn than we were for Mardjetko. They have a staff of three. I think the lowest team ERA in the country. Pick your poison.

“We chose a little bit wrong, as I said. Also told the ladies that we got to be able to adjust off that, too. It’s easy to gear yourself down and gear yourself up I thought.

“Like I said, there’s that one play that we get that double, at least a double down the line, we hit a run scored, one of our best hitters up.It’s a game of inches. They took the most of their opportunities when we made mistakes, hit, bat or walk. Had a home run on the first pitch that was probably too good. That’s what good teams do.

“They jumped on us, we tried to claw back, but just a little bit too late. But like I told the ladies, at least we made a game of it, created a little bit of urgency on their part. I thought we did a pretty good job off Karlyn when she came in.”

Makenzie Butt also made a game-changing play in the third inning. Butt stole a would-be double from Kayden Henry, potentially driving in a run, but instead ended up as an inning-ending double play.

Texas takes on Mississippi State on Friday in an elimination game at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The Lady Vols face Texas Tech on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on ABC, which might be a duel between Pickens and NiJaree Canady, the first two picks in the AUSL College Draft.

You may also like