University of Tennessee Athletics
Wednesday, February 14
Kennesaw, GA
6 PM
University of Tennessee
at
Kennesaw State
Softball Preview: Kennesaw State & Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational
February 13, 2024 | Softball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Week two of the 2024 softball season is set to be a busy one for the second-ranked Lady Vols as they play at Kennesaw State on Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET before flying to Clearwater, Florida, for the 2024 Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational.
Following its Valentine's Day showdown with the Owls, UT will play five games in three days against some of the best teams from around the nation. UT opens play in Clearwater on Friday against No. 9 Stanford and No. 3 Texas.
Saturday's games feature Georgia Tech and No. 19 UCLA. The Lady Vols close out the weekend with a primetime matchup on ESPN against No. 7 Florida State. A full schedule for the weekend, including game times and TV designations can be found below.
WEEKEND SLATE
Wednesday, Feb. 14 – at Kennesaw State – 6 p.m. ET – KSUOwls.com
Friday, Feb. 16 – vs. No. 9 Stanford – 3 p.m. ET – ESPN2
Friday, Feb. 16 – vs. No. 3 Texas – 6 p.m. ET – Longhorn Network
Saturday, Feb. 17 – vs. Georgia Tech – Noon ET – ESPN+
Saturday, Feb. 17 – vs. No. 19 UCLA – 4 p.m. ET – ESPNU
Sunday, Feb. 18 – vs. No. 7 Florida State – 8 p.m. ET – ESPN
BROADCAST INFO
All six games this week will be available to stream or watch on linear TV. Fans can also listen live to Hunter King describe the action via a free audio stream on 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.
LOOK BACK
Tennessee enters the weekend with a 3-0 mark after beating UT-Arlington on opening day, followed by a doubleheader sweep of No. 19 Baylor on Friday.
Payton Gottshall and Rylie West starred for Tennessee as Gottshall picked up two wins in the circle, while West kickstarted her senior season with a big weekend at the plate that resulted in her winning SEC Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career.
Gottshall tossed 8.1 innings of shutout ball over two appearances, striking out 13 and walking none. The right-hander started against UT-Arlington and held the Mavericks to just a pair of hits. On Friday, she came out of the bullpen at Baylor and kept the Bear's bats at bay, giving up only three hits over 4.1 innings of work.
At the plate, West went 5-for-7 (.714), with six runs scored, two doubles, two home runs and six RBIs. She also drew three walks and finished the weekend with a team-leading 2.657 OPS. Against No. 19 Baylor, West came up clutch as she broke up a potential no-hitter with a double down the left field line – she came around to score Tennessee's opening run – to spark the Lady Vols' come-from-behind win.
In game two versus Baylor, West went 2-for-2 with two runs scored, hit a home run and finished with four RBIs as Tennessee won its series against the Bears.
NOTABLE
PITCHING BY COMMITTEE
Over Tennessee's opening weekend, all four pitchers on staff saw action in the circle.
Graduate pitcher Payton Gottshall got the opening day start at UT-Arlington, tossing four innings of shutout ball with no walks and seven strikeouts. The righty allowed just two hits against the Mavericks. Gottshall also pitched versus No. 19 Baylor on Friday night, coming out of the bullpen to toss 4.1 innings. The Massillon, Ohio, native shutdown the Bears' offense, surrendering just three hits on the night with six strikeouts and no walks as she improved to 2-0 on the year.
Karlyn Pickens tossed five innings in Tennessee's opener at Baylor, also coming out of the bullpen. The flame thrower struck out four, walked two and allowed two runs - one earned - on three hits. The sophomore picked up the win and is 1-0 in 2024.
Charli Orsini saw action versus UT-Arlington and Baylor over the weekend, coming on in relief versus UTA and starting game two at Baylor. The Aussie has three strikeouts, one walk with one run allowed on five hits over 2.2 innings of work.
Ryleigh White started game one versus Baylor, tossing two shutout innings.
OFFENSIVE KNOWHOW
Teams at the University of Tennessee have become very familiar with high-scoring outputs, and Lady Vol softball is no different. UT ended 2023 ranking third in the nation and first in the SEC in scoring, averaging 6.87 runs per game.
Through the first three games of the 2024 season, that trend looks to continue as UT is averaging nine runs per game.
SABERMETRICS CORNER
Rylie West leads Tennessee in weighted on-base average (WOBA) at 1.021. Destiny Rodriguez is second with a .904 mark, while Kiki Milly's WOBA sits at .537.
WOBA credits a hitter for the value of each outcome – single, double etc. – rather than treating all hits or times on base equally.
In the circle, Gottshall's fielding independent of pitching (FIP) is -0.40. FIP estimates a pitcher's run prevention independent of the performance of their defense on the same scale as ERA.
ON THE CUSP OF HISTORY
Graduate outfielder Kiki Milloy stands on the edge of history as she chases Tennessee's program record for home runs in a career. With 57 career homers, she is tied with Meghan Gregg for the most all-time in Lady Vol history.
Milloy hit her 57th home run on Friday night at Baylor in her 203rd career game.
Gregg finished her Tennessee career with 57 home runs hit in 245 games.
SCOUTING KENNESAW STATE
Head Coach (Record at Kennesaw State): Tripp MacKay (199-122)
2024 Record: 2-2
Series Record: Tennessee leads 5-0
Last Meeting: W, 7-3, on 4/18/23 in Knoxville
SCOUTING STANFORD
Head Coach (Record at Stanford): Jessica Allister (201-116)
2024 Record: 3-2
Series Record: Stanford leads 6-4
Last Meeting: W, 5-0, on 3/8/20 in Knoxville
SCOUTING TEXAS
Head Coach (Record at Texas): Mike White (210-71-2)
2024 Record: 5-0
Series Record: Series tied 5-5
Last Meeting: W, 9-0, on 5/27/23 in Knoxville
SCOUTING GEORGIA TECH
Head Coach (Record at Georgia Tech): Aileen Morales (158-138)
2024 Record: 3-3
Series Record: Tennessee leads 4-1
Last Meeting: W, 9-0, on 2/24/12 in Clearwater, Florida
SCOUTING UCLA
Head Coach (Record at UCLA): Kelly Inouye-Perez (777-200-1)
2024 Record: 2-3
Series Record: UCLA leads 8-4
Last Meeting: L, 2-1 (8), on 2/26/22 in Cathedral City, California
SCOUTING FLORIDA STATE
Head Coach (Record at Florida State): Lonni Alameda (720-199-2)
2024 Record: 4-1
Series Record: Tennessee leads 5-4
Last Meeting: L, 5-1, on 6/5/23 in Oklahoma City
UP NEXT
The Lady Vols will head west to Cathedral City, California, next weekend as they are set to play in the 2024 Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Tennessee will play six games over three days, spanning Feb. 23-25.
Following its Valentine's Day showdown with the Owls, UT will play five games in three days against some of the best teams from around the nation. UT opens play in Clearwater on Friday against No. 9 Stanford and No. 3 Texas.
Saturday's games feature Georgia Tech and No. 19 UCLA. The Lady Vols close out the weekend with a primetime matchup on ESPN against No. 7 Florida State. A full schedule for the weekend, including game times and TV designations can be found below.
WEEKEND SLATE
Wednesday, Feb. 14 – at Kennesaw State – 6 p.m. ET – KSUOwls.com
Friday, Feb. 16 – vs. No. 9 Stanford – 3 p.m. ET – ESPN2
Friday, Feb. 16 – vs. No. 3 Texas – 6 p.m. ET – Longhorn Network
Saturday, Feb. 17 – vs. Georgia Tech – Noon ET – ESPN+
Saturday, Feb. 17 – vs. No. 19 UCLA – 4 p.m. ET – ESPNU
Sunday, Feb. 18 – vs. No. 7 Florida State – 8 p.m. ET – ESPN
BROADCAST INFO
All six games this week will be available to stream or watch on linear TV. Fans can also listen live to Hunter King describe the action via a free audio stream on 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.
LOOK BACK
Tennessee enters the weekend with a 3-0 mark after beating UT-Arlington on opening day, followed by a doubleheader sweep of No. 19 Baylor on Friday.
Payton Gottshall and Rylie West starred for Tennessee as Gottshall picked up two wins in the circle, while West kickstarted her senior season with a big weekend at the plate that resulted in her winning SEC Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career.
Gottshall tossed 8.1 innings of shutout ball over two appearances, striking out 13 and walking none. The right-hander started against UT-Arlington and held the Mavericks to just a pair of hits. On Friday, she came out of the bullpen at Baylor and kept the Bear's bats at bay, giving up only three hits over 4.1 innings of work.
At the plate, West went 5-for-7 (.714), with six runs scored, two doubles, two home runs and six RBIs. She also drew three walks and finished the weekend with a team-leading 2.657 OPS. Against No. 19 Baylor, West came up clutch as she broke up a potential no-hitter with a double down the left field line – she came around to score Tennessee's opening run – to spark the Lady Vols' come-from-behind win.
In game two versus Baylor, West went 2-for-2 with two runs scored, hit a home run and finished with four RBIs as Tennessee won its series against the Bears.
NOTABLE
PITCHING BY COMMITTEE
Over Tennessee's opening weekend, all four pitchers on staff saw action in the circle.
Graduate pitcher Payton Gottshall got the opening day start at UT-Arlington, tossing four innings of shutout ball with no walks and seven strikeouts. The righty allowed just two hits against the Mavericks. Gottshall also pitched versus No. 19 Baylor on Friday night, coming out of the bullpen to toss 4.1 innings. The Massillon, Ohio, native shutdown the Bears' offense, surrendering just three hits on the night with six strikeouts and no walks as she improved to 2-0 on the year.
Karlyn Pickens tossed five innings in Tennessee's opener at Baylor, also coming out of the bullpen. The flame thrower struck out four, walked two and allowed two runs - one earned - on three hits. The sophomore picked up the win and is 1-0 in 2024.
Charli Orsini saw action versus UT-Arlington and Baylor over the weekend, coming on in relief versus UTA and starting game two at Baylor. The Aussie has three strikeouts, one walk with one run allowed on five hits over 2.2 innings of work.
Ryleigh White started game one versus Baylor, tossing two shutout innings.
OFFENSIVE KNOWHOW
Teams at the University of Tennessee have become very familiar with high-scoring outputs, and Lady Vol softball is no different. UT ended 2023 ranking third in the nation and first in the SEC in scoring, averaging 6.87 runs per game.
Through the first three games of the 2024 season, that trend looks to continue as UT is averaging nine runs per game.
SABERMETRICS CORNER
Rylie West leads Tennessee in weighted on-base average (WOBA) at 1.021. Destiny Rodriguez is second with a .904 mark, while Kiki Milly's WOBA sits at .537.
WOBA credits a hitter for the value of each outcome – single, double etc. – rather than treating all hits or times on base equally.
In the circle, Gottshall's fielding independent of pitching (FIP) is -0.40. FIP estimates a pitcher's run prevention independent of the performance of their defense on the same scale as ERA.
ON THE CUSP OF HISTORY
Graduate outfielder Kiki Milloy stands on the edge of history as she chases Tennessee's program record for home runs in a career. With 57 career homers, she is tied with Meghan Gregg for the most all-time in Lady Vol history.
Milloy hit her 57th home run on Friday night at Baylor in her 203rd career game.
Gregg finished her Tennessee career with 57 home runs hit in 245 games.
SCOUTING KENNESAW STATE
Head Coach (Record at Kennesaw State): Tripp MacKay (199-122)
2024 Record: 2-2
Series Record: Tennessee leads 5-0
Last Meeting: W, 7-3, on 4/18/23 in Knoxville
SCOUTING STANFORD
Head Coach (Record at Stanford): Jessica Allister (201-116)
2024 Record: 3-2
Series Record: Stanford leads 6-4
Last Meeting: W, 5-0, on 3/8/20 in Knoxville
SCOUTING TEXAS
Head Coach (Record at Texas): Mike White (210-71-2)
2024 Record: 5-0
Series Record: Series tied 5-5
Last Meeting: W, 9-0, on 5/27/23 in Knoxville
SCOUTING GEORGIA TECH
Head Coach (Record at Georgia Tech): Aileen Morales (158-138)
2024 Record: 3-3
Series Record: Tennessee leads 4-1
Last Meeting: W, 9-0, on 2/24/12 in Clearwater, Florida
SCOUTING UCLA
Head Coach (Record at UCLA): Kelly Inouye-Perez (777-200-1)
2024 Record: 2-3
Series Record: UCLA leads 8-4
Last Meeting: L, 2-1 (8), on 2/26/22 in Cathedral City, California
SCOUTING FLORIDA STATE
Head Coach (Record at Florida State): Lonni Alameda (720-199-2)
2024 Record: 4-1
Series Record: Tennessee leads 5-4
Last Meeting: L, 5-1, on 6/5/23 in Oklahoma City
UP NEXT
The Lady Vols will head west to Cathedral City, California, next weekend as they are set to play in the 2024 Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Tennessee will play six games over three days, spanning Feb. 23-25.
Players Mentioned
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