KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Behind dominant pitching from sophomore Sage Mardjetko and a clutch home run from senior Sophia Nugent, No. 7 Tennessee punched its ticket to a third consecutive NCAA Super Regional with a 5-0 win over Ohio State on Sunday at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
With the shutout victory, the Lady Vols (43-14) completed a 3-0 weekend in the Knoxville Regional, defeating Miami (Ohio) on Friday and taking down Ohio State on both Saturday and Sunday. This marks Tennessee’s 14th Super Regional appearance in program history and its first time advancing to the round three years in a row since 2017–19.
For the first time in program history, the Lady Vols will host Super Regionals for a third consecutive year.
Mardjetko was electric in the circle, tossing five scoreless innings against one of the nation’s top offenses. The right-hander allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out five to improve to 12-2 on the season. Junior Karlyn Pickens entered in relief in the sixth and recorded the final six outs, striking out five to notch her third save.
The duo combined to shut out the Buckeyes (45-14-1) for just the second time this season.
Tennessee broke a scoreless tie in the sixth when Nugent launched a two-out, two-run homer off the left-field foul pole — her 16th of the season. The momentum continued with a walk to McKenna Gibson, followed by an RBI double from Laura Mealer that scored pinch runner Zoie Shuler from first and pushed the lead to 3-0.
The Lady Vols added two more in the seventh. Gabby Leach led off with a solo shot to right, and Ella Dodge followed with a double before scoring on a Saviya Morgan RBI single to right.
CHECK THE STATS
With a perfect weekend, Tennessee improved to 94-48 all-time in the NCAA tournament and 57-18 in regional play.
Mealer led the offense, going 5-for-7 with four runs scored, six RBIs, a double and a grand slam over the weekend. Leach (.429), Gibson (.429), and Morgan (.400) also hit over .400 in the regional.
Nugent finished 3-for-8 with three runs scored, a double, two home runs and seven RBIs across the three games.
DUE UP
Tennessee will play Nebraska who won the Baton Rouge Regional over Southeastern Louisiana.
