Softball On SI

Top-Ranked Texas Falls at Home as No. 10 Tennessee Softball Pulls Off Upset

No. 10 Tennessee softball stuns top-ranked Texas with a road win in Austin, handing the Longhorns a rare home loss in a statement upset victory.
Maren Angus-Coombs|
Tennessee's Karlyn Pickens (23) pitches against Arkansas during an NCAA college softball game on Monday, March 24, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn.
Tennessee's Karlyn Pickens (23) pitches against Arkansas during an NCAA college softball game on Monday, March 24, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Texas Longhorns have been ranked No. 1 for nearly the entire season. That might change come Monday after the No. 10 Tennessee Lady Vols upset the Longhorns in Austin 4-1 on Sunday, clinching the series.

Tennessee previously beat No. 2 Oklahoma in Norman, but this one meant something a little more. It marked the program's first series victory over a No. 1-ranked team since 2013.

Lady Vols starter Karlyn Pickens dominated a Texas offense ranked in the top five nationally in batting average, hits, on base percentage, RBIs, runs, and slugging percentage. Texas was 4-for-25 against Pickens on Saturday and 6-for-27 on Sunday.

Pickens finished the series with 20 strikeouts over 15 innings.

“You’re only going to get two or three runs max against a pitcher like that,” head coach Mike White said. “But it wasn’t from a lack of effort, though; they tried hard, but we just weren’t quite good enough today.”

The Lady Vols took advantage of a rare Longhorn mistake in the first inning. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Sophia Nugent popped out behind the plate but catcher Reese Atwood collided with a teammate, allowing Kinsey Fiedler to tag from third and score.

“Well, the first inning was a nightmare; it was a really tough one,” White said. “We just couldn’t do anything right. The walks on the day hurt us; three walks equaled three runs and that’s the difference in the ball game. And we were facing really tough pitching today, so you just can’t do that.”

Texas answered in the home half of the first, tying the contest at 1-1.

Taylor Pannell and McKenna Gibson combined to give the Lady Vols a 2-1 lead with back-to-back doubles in the third. The Lady Vols never looked back from there as Gibson drove in Tennessee's third run in the fifth and extended the lead to 4-1 in the seventh.

Gibson had a massive weekend for the Lady Vols, finishing 4-for-9 with a home run, five RBIs, and a run scored. In the series finale, she went 3-for-3 and drove in three of Tennessee's four runs.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.

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