Tennessee is one win away from the Women's College World Series championship series after Emma Clarke hit a walk-off home run in the ninth inning Saturday to beat Texas Tech 2-1 at Devon Park in Oklahoma City.
According to CBS Sports, the game featured two of the nation's top pitching arms in Tennessee's Karlyn Pickens and Texas Tech ace NiJaree Canady. Tennessee appeared to have the game in hand after Taelyn Holley hit a solo home run in the fifth inning to give the Lady Vols a 1-0 lead. Texas Tech forced extra innings by capitalizing on a missed tag at the plate in the seventh. Then Clarke ended it two innings later with her decisive home run.
The loss drops Texas Tech into an elimination game Sunday against No. 8 UCLA. That game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
Later Saturday, No. 1 overall seed Alabama beat No. 4 Nebraska 5-1 to improve to 2-0 in the tournament and snap the Cornhuskers' 27-game winning streak. Jocelyn Briski carried a perfect game into the fourth inning for the Crimson Tide. Alabama broke the game open early when Marlie Giles hit a three-run home run in the first inning. The Tide never trailed.
Nebraska now drops into the elimination bracket, where it faces defending national champion Texas on Sunday at 3 p.m. on ABC. Texas kept its season alive Friday behind Teagan Kavan's fourth career WCWS shutout. The Longhorns have been to the championship series three of the last four seasons and are trying to get back there again through the losers bracket.
Tennessee will play Monday at noon on ESPN against whoever survives Sunday's Texas-Nebraska elimination game. Alabama faces the UCLA-Texas Tech winner Monday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
The championship series begins Wednesday, June 3, at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
