Duke softball stifled by Tennessee pitcher Karlyn Pickens in 1-0 midweek loss

A midweek game traditionally gives power-conference teams a reprieve in between intense intraconference battles. That could not be more untrue when No. 13 Duke battled No. 5 Tennessee Tuesday night.

The Blue Devils traveled to Knoxville, Tenn., to take on the Volunteers and left without touching home in a 1-0 loss. Perhaps it was the guidance of former Duke standout Jala Wright — who is now a graduate assistant at Tennessee — as Volunteer starter Karlyn Pickens allowed just two hits in a dominant performance against the Blue Devils.

Tennessee set the tone of the evening in the first inning, as Pickens and third baseman Taylor Pannell both brought some fireworks before the sun set. A walk to catcher Kairi Rodriguez was the sole blemish of Pickens’ three-strikeout first inning that saw the top of Duke’s lineup whiffing at her change of speeds. Then, Pannell belted a pitch from Dani Drogemuller on the inner half of the plate over the left-field fence to give the home team an immediate 1-0 lead.

Pickens continued to dominate the Blue Devils to the tune of six consecutive batters retired through the third inning. On the other side, Drogemuller managed to get out of a third-inning jam with runners on second and third and just one out. First, with Pannell looking to send yet another ball over the fence, Drogmuller sat her down with a punch out. A line drive off the bat of McKenna Gibson looked like trouble for a moment, but it found the glove of shortstop Ana Gold.

In the fourth, Gold broke Pickens’ streak with a grounder down the third-base line, and Duke gained a scoring opportunity of its own after a walk to Thessa Malau'ulu. However, Pickens came back with a three-pitch strikeout of KK Mathis — her seventh of the game to that point — and celebrated as she walked out of the circle.

Drogmuller had a moment in the circle of her own after a 12-pitch at-bat finally went her way. After six consecutive foul balls, the Pittsburgh transfer floated in a changeup to turn the fourth inning into the fifth.

The heroics of Drogmuller in the circle did little to awaken the Blue Devils’ bats, however, as Pickens continued to work her way quickly  through the lineup. The 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year had enough velocity on her fastball to keep Duke’s batters on their toes and controlled her offspeed pitches to spin them right back on their heels. As the game wore on, it seemed like Pickens’ command and confidence only grew.

Junior Cassidy Curd relieved Drogmuller in the fifth, and while she encountered some turbulence, four punchouts in two innings kept the score knotted at 1-0. That gave the Blue Devils one final chance against Pickens in the top of the seventh.

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