OKLAHOMA CITY – Tennessee softball took down the reigning national champions to open the Women’s College World Series.
The No. 7 seed Lady Vols (48-10) survived a late rally and won 6-3 against No. 2 seed Texas (47-12) at Devon Park on May 28 to advance to the winner’s bracket.
Tennessee will face No. 11 seed Texas Tech (58-7), which beat Mississippi State 8-0 in five innings, on May 30 (3 p.m. ET, ABC) for a spot in the semifinals on June 1.
Junior pitcher Sage Mardjetko (15-2) got the start and went four innings before senior Karlyn Pickens entered the game. Pickens threw two strikeouts with four hits allowed and two earned runs in her seventh save of the season.
Sage Mardjetko shines in first WCWS start
Mardjetko was excellent in the first start at the WCWS of her career. She held Texas to one hit with one strikeout and two walks in four innings.
She didn’t allow a hit until the third inning, and the single was immediately erased with a double play by first baseman Makenzie Butt, who made the catch and tagged first base before the runner could get back.
Mardjetko attacked the strike zone against a lethal Texas offense that averaged 7.22 runs and hit .342 as a team this season. She held SEC Player of the Year Katie Stewart hitless in two at-bats and threw 33 strikes in her 50 total pitches.
Mardjetko is having a breakout season for Tennessee and was named to the NFCA All-America first team on May 27 for the first time in her career. During the NCAA Tournament, she has thrown 16 strikeouts with only four walks and six hits allowed over 13⅔ innings.
Elsa Morrison crushes home run in first at-bat of WCWS debut
Freshman catcher Elsa Morrison only needed a single pitch to make a name for herself in her WCWS debut.
With two runners on base and no outs on the board, Texas pitcher Teagan Kavan threw a pitch right down the middle and Morrison crushed it over the center field wall. Her three-run homer gave Tennessee a crucial early lead in the second inning.
It was Morrison’s seventh homer of the season and her second of the NCAA Tournament. She hit her first was the game-winning homer against Northern Kentucky in the regional opener.
Morrison went 2-for-3, adding a two-out double in the sixth inning that was inches from leaving the park. Zoie Schuler pinch ran for Morrison and scored off an RBI-single from Gabby Leach to make it 5-1.
Freshman outfielder Taelyn Holley scored two runs, the first off a couple of wild pitches after she hit a leadoff single in the fifth inning and the second off a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning.
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee softball beats Texas to open Women’s College World Series