Tennessee’s Karlyn Pickens Dominates in Fourth No-Hitter, Lady Vols Sink Kentucky 5-0
LEXINGTON, KY — Senior right-hander Karlyn Pickens tossed her fourth career no-hitter on Saturday at John Cropp Stadium, powering No. 9 Tennessee to a 5-0 shutout of Kentucky. Pickens improved to 11-4, striking out 12 and walking just one while completing the game. The performance extended her streak of dominance, as she has now thrown a no-hitter in each of her four seasons with Rocky Top.
The shutout also marked Tennessee’s first no-hitter against an SEC opponent since Ashley Rogers blanked Ole Miss on March 10, 2023.
Vols Capitalize Early, Then Pull Away
Tennessee broke through offensively in the fourth inning, when Emma Clarke led off with a home run—her ninth of the season and the second leadoff blast of the year.
The Lady Vols added more in the fifth, using aggressive baserunning and situational hitting. Saviya Morgan drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. After Maddi Rutan executed a sacrifice bunt to advance to third, Meredith Barnhart followed with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Morgan.
Home Runs Extend the Lead
Pickens’ stingy pitching kept Kentucky at bay, while Tennessee’s lineup continued to add insurance. Elsa Morrison pushed the lead to 3-0 in the sixth with her fourth home run of the season.Then in the seventh, Tennessee added two more runs on back-to-back home runs by Gabby Leach and Ella Dodge.
Kentucky Struggles Against Tennessee Pitching
Kentucky starter McKenzie Oslanzi (3-5) took the loss after allowing two runs on three hits over 4.1 innings, along with one walk and two strikeouts. In relief, Sarah Haendiges surrendered three runs on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts across 2.2 innings.
Kentucky fell to 24-20 overall and 1-15 in SEC play, while Tennessee improved to 34-6 and 10-6 in the conference.
Notes: Tennessee’s Season of No-Hitters
The effort was Tennessee’s fifth no-hitter of the season, the 13th under pitching coach Megan Rhodes Smith, and the 66th in program history.
DUE UP
Tennessee and Kentucky will meet again in Game 2 of the series on today, with first pitch set for 6 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
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