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Karlyn Pickens Returns, Pitches 1-Hit Complete Game

Nicole Reitz|
Karlyn Pickens returned to the circle after battling injury.
Karlyn Pickens returned to the circle after battling injury. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

A historic start to the season for the No.1 Tennessee Lady Vols came to an end on Saturday when they dropped their first game in 2026 to No. 12 Mississippi State. To save the conference series on Sunday, the team needed their superhero out of the bullpen.

Enter Karlyn Pickens. 

After an 11-day layoff battling an arm strain, the senior ace returned to the circle and picked right back up with her fierce competitiveness. Though a little wobbly at first, the reigning back-to-back SEC Pitcher of the Year fell into the right rhythm as the game carried on. 

She allowed just one run on one hit with four walks to her seventh win of 2026. By the second inning, Pickens was able to notch her 700th career strikeout and went on to throw five more in the outing. 

Tennessee attacked first, but the Bulldogs responded with a solo home run from Gabby Shaeffer and continued to threaten throughout the third inning. Pickens was able to work around the traffic and keep the game tied. 

The Lady Vols then produced three more insurance runs, allowing Pickens to slam the door at the bottom of the seventh with a game-ending strikeout, handing Mississippi State a 4-1 loss. She ended the outing with 111 pitches thrown. 

Head coach Karen Weekly admitted postgame that Pickens promised her four innings, but after feeling good, she asked to stay in longer. 

“Our plan today was four innings,” Weekly said postgame. Not because of injury, but because once she felt good (on Saturday), we knew we were in a good place, but not to ask her to do too much after an 11-day layoff. We got to the end of four, and she wasn’t as sharp, and we don’t expect her to be.” 

“She said, ‘Can I stay in?’ … I have a tremendous amount of respect for an athlete who wants the ball even when they know they’re not at 100%.” 

By staying in longer than planned, Pickens allowed herself to readjust to the game. She noted a few timing issues and missed pitches, but Sunday’s matchup was the warm-up she needed to move forward. 

“I was super excited to get back on the mound,” Pickens said postgame. “Obviously, a few timing things, kinda feeling it through, but I’m glad to feel back like me again.” 

On March 4, Pickens was 19 pitches in with two strikeouts and a walk against Belmont when she grabbed her right shoulder, wincing in pain. She then called a timeout and motioned for a trainer to visit the mound. After a discussion in the circle with medical staff and pitching coach Megan Rhodes Smith, Pickens threw a test pitch and shook her head no. 

Erin Nuwer and Sage Mardjetko have already been owning this season, but the two have greatly stepped up while Pickens was down. While Pickens is currently fourth in the NCAA in ERA at. 60, junior Mardjetko (.83) and sophomore Nuwer (.89) are neck-and-neck in eighth and ninth place. 

SEC play continues for the Lady Vols this week, as they’ll head to Gainesville for a three-game series against the No. 8 Florida Gators. 

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Nicole Reitz
NICOLE REITZ

Nicole Reitz graduated from Indiana University Indianapolis with a degree in sports journalism in 2022 and has been writing about softball and baseball since 2018 .Her work has been published in various publications like Softball America, the Indianapolis Star, and SoxOn35th.

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