Tennessee Softball Fails to Overcome Ole Miss, Loses 3-2

No. 4 Tennessee softball suffered a narrow 3-2 loss to No. 16 Ole Miss in the opener of their weekend series, marking the Lady Vols' first back-to-back defeats in over a month. Ole Miss took an early lead in the second inning with a combination of a hit batter, a walk, and timely hitting, while Tennessee was unable to capitalize on several scoring opportunities despite a late rally. Tennessee's Kinsey Fiedler sparked the offense with a triple and Taylor Pannell added a sacrifice fly, but the Lady Vols left runners stranded in the final innings. Pitching for Tennessee, Karlyn Pickens allowed three early runs, while Erin Nuwer delivered four shutout innings in relief. Ole Miss's strong second inning proved decisive, and Tennessee's late surge ultimately fell short, leaving them with a 37-11 record and 12-7 in SEC play. The teams are set to continue their series with the next game scheduled for Saturday.