Softball Preview: 2024 Tennessee Classic

(Courtesy / UT Athletics)

Softball Preview: 2024 Tennessee Classic

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Back home after spending three weeks on the road, No. 9 Tennessee is set to welcome Brown, Longwood and Stetson to Sherri Parker Lee Stadium for the 2024 Tennessee Classic – running March 1-4.
 
Due to expected inclement weather on Friday, the original schedule has changed with only one game slated for Friday – Stetson vs. Brown at 6 p.m. ET – with Saturday and Sunday featuring four games throughout the day.
 
Tennessee will also play one game against Longwood on Monday, with first pitch scheduled for noon.
 
A full tournament schedule can be seen below:
 
FRIDAY, MARCH 1
G1: 6:00 p.m. – Stetson vs. Brown
 
SATURDAY, MARCH 2
G2: 10:00 a.m. – Longwood vs. Stetson
 
G3: 12:30 p.m. – Longwood vs. Brown
 
G4: 3:00 p.m. – Tennessee vs. Stetson
 
G5: 5:30 p.m. – Tennessee vs. Brown
 
SUNDAY, MARCH 3
G6: 9:00 a.m. – Stetson vs. Brown
 
G7: 11:30 a.m. – Tennessee vs. Stetson
 
G8: 2:00 p.m. – Brown vs. Longwood
 
G9: 4:30 p.m. – Tennessee vs. Longwood
 
MONDAY, MARCH 4
G10: 12:00 p.m. – Tennessee vs. Longwood
 
BROADCAST INFO
All Tennessee games throughout the weekend will be available to stream on SEC Network+ or through the WatchESPN app.
 
Fans can also listen to a free audio broadcast of all four of Tennessee’s games via UTSports.com and the Tennessee Athletics Gameday app.
 
All streaming, live stats and radio links can be found by visiting the Tennessee softball schedule page at UTSports.com.
 
NOTABLE
CAREER ACTIVE LEADERS
Graduate Payton Gottshall is playing her fifth season of collegiate softball and has quietly put together an impressive resume.
 
The rankings below highlight Gottshall’s numbers against other active career leaders.
 
Category           Stat      NCAA Rank      SEC Rank
Games start     100         4                          2
Strikeouts          952       1                          1
Inn. Pitched      680.7    4                          2
 
NO FREE PASSES
Tennessee’s pitching staff ranks eighth nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio with a mark of 4.94. Individually, Payton Gottshall is 12th in the nation and leads the SEC at 12.67. Sophomore Karlyn Pickens is seventh in the conference with a 6.57 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
 
PICK-ING THEM APART
Karlyn Pickens struck out 30 batters last weekend over 16.1 innings of work – and walked just two. The hard-throwing right-hander has 46 strikeouts this season – a mark that ranks 28th in the country and fifth in the SEC.
 
MAKING HISTORY
Kiki Milloy and Karlyn Pickens made history last weekend against Loyola Marymount as Milloy hit her 58th career home run to become Tennessee’s all-time home runs leader. In the circle, Pickens tossed her second-career perfect game, joining Monica Abbott and Erin Gabriel as the only pitchers in program history to pitch multiple perfect games.
 
SCOUTING BROWN
 
Head Coach (Record at Brown): Kate Refsnyder (72-168)
 
2024 Record: 3-2
 
Series Record: First meeting
 
Last Meeting: N/A
 
SCOUTING LONGWOOD
 
Head Coach (Record at Longwood): Dr. Megan Brown (95-82)
 
2024 Record: 3-9
 
Series Record: Tennessee leads 6-0
 
Last Meeting: W, 8-0 on May 17, 2019 in Knoxville
 
SCOUTING STETSON
 
Head Coach (Record at Stetson): Shellie Robinson (55-73)
 
2024 Record: 6-10
 
Series Record: Tennessee leads 6-0
 
Last Meeting: W, 11-0 (5) on Feb. 12, 2011 in DeLand, Florida
 
UP NEXT
Tennessee will take a quick trip to Clemson, South Carolina, on Tuesday, March 5 for a midweek top 10 matchup against the Tigers at McWhorter Stadium. The game is slated for a 6 p.m. first pitch.
 

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