Karen Weekly takes blame for pitching decision gone awry, tries to rally Volunteers

The second game at the Women’s College World Series did not go the way Tennessee wanted, with juggernaut Oklahoma showing exactly why they’ve won nearly half a hundred games in a row.

Tennessee trailed 9-0 through the middle innings and was eventually run-ruled.

The Volunteers made a surprising decision in the circle on Saturday, starting Karlyn Pickens, the third pitcher in the rotation. Tennessee didn’t open the game with ace Ashley Rogers or Payton Gottshall.

“I like what Pickens can do,” coach Karen Weekly explained. “I like her variety of pitches and that was really what went into it, was watching them and how they approach at-bats. I knew it was a risk, and I take full responsibility for it.”

With the loss, Tennessee is now forced to play out of the loser’s bracket at the Women’s College World Series going forward.

The good news is the pitching decision on Saturday against the Sooners was just a gut feel call by Weekly, not any sort of injury to Rogers or Gottshall.

“Yeah, there’s no problem with them. They’re good,” Weekly said. “They’re good. And I think we’ve let things unravel a little bit behind them, but it all starts in the circle, no question.”

With both starting pitchers available going forward, Tennessee will still have a chance to make some noise and get itself back into the thick of things.

Rogers sports a 19-1 record with a 0.83 ERA, while Gottshall has a 16-1 record with a 1.57 ERA. Contrast that with Pickens’ 9-6 record and 2.84 ERA.

But Weekly took the blame for the decision that didn’t work out in the second game at the Women’s College World Series.

In the rest of the game she was simply urging her players to use their opportunities to get back on track.

“We just talked about we don’t want, if today’s the end of, if this game ends like it does, we don’t want it to be the end of our tournament,” Weekly said. “So I want these guys to play, to see as many pitches as possible, take advantage of every opportunity out there whether you’re throwing the pitch or seeing it at the plate and get looks. Because that’s how you get better, you get looks and you make adjustments.”