Tennessee's Karen Weekly discusses early nerves, pitching vs. Texas in Game 1 of Super Regional

It wasn’t too hard for Tennessee head coach Karen Weekly to be in a decent mood when ESPN reporter Holly Rowe caught up with her between innings as the Volunteers hosted Texas for Game 1 of their NCAA Super Regional in Knoxville. He team was leading, 4-1, after all.

And with the game finally getting underway, Weekly and her team could move off the nerves of the day and get on to the job of winning a Super Regional. And with a pair Super Regional wins over Texas, the Vols would secure a return to the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2015.

“Yeah, it’s just fun to get out here and get going. I think everybody’s nervous before that first pitch is thrown and then we’re good,” Weekly said.

And despite the run allowed, Tennessee was getting good early pitching from starter Ashley Rogers. Weekly was content with the start, knowing that her pitcher tends to settle in and improve as the game goes on.

That was some good intuition. After allowing her run in the third, Rogers came out and sat down three straight Texas batters in the top of the fourth inning.

“We just need to move the ball around a little bit better. Some of the pitches just haven’t had the break that she wants. But Ashley’s really good at just continuing to power through and grind and things usually get better as she goes,” Weekly said.

Tennessee built an early lead via a Zaida Puni home run vs. Texas

Tennessee already had a one-run cushion when Zaida Puni stepped into the batters box in the bottom of the second inning of their first Super Regional game against Texas on Friday. Leadoff hitter Kiki Milloy singled in a run as the Volunteers turned the lineup over just more than an inning into the contest.

With a pair of runners standing on base, Puni had an opportunity to do some more damage against the Longhorns. Facing a 1-1 count, she got a pitch that caught too much of the plate.

Puni deposited the bright yellow ball a good 20 feet beyond the left field fence as Tennessee took a 4-0 lead.

picking up right where she left off 😤

📺 https://t.co/n5DFCydZop pic.twitter.com/af3QBRUsjL

— Tennessee Softball (@Vol_Softball) May 26, 2023

It’s Puni’s 13th home run of the season and her takes her to 55 RBI on the year.

The winner of the best-of-three weekend series will advance to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.