Tennessee softball is two wins away from the Women's College World Series.
The No. 3 seed Lady Vols (43-10) host No. 14 seed Alabama (36-17) in the NCAA super regional that begins Friday (4 p.m., ESPN2) at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. UT beat Alabama during the regular season, but Tennessee coach Karen Weekly said that result doesn't matter this weekend.
"Alabama is going to be different (Friday) than they were last time we saw them, and so are we," Weekly said Sunday. "Then they're going to be different the next day. And so you can't just sit there and go 'Oh, we've seen them, we know what to expect.' You have to prepare like it's the first time you're seeing somebody."
Here's what you need to know about the matchup.
Alabama relies on pitching for wins
Graduate pitcher Kayla Beaver, who transferred from Central Arkansas, pitched nine of Alabama's 10 SEC wins. In those wins, she only gave up 10 runs and logged five shutouts – including a 1-0 win against Tennessee.
Beaver (17-8) has a 1.72 ERA over 171 innings pitched this season. She has logged 172 strikeouts, 60 walks and given up 42 earned runs. Jocelyn Briski has had solid performances as well, only giving up two runs in her loss to UT and securing Alabama's lone win against Arkansas.
Tennessee found success against Beaver the first time it faced her, hitting .345 in the 5-0 win. But the second time the Lady Vols saw her, they only logged two hits in the 1-0 loss.
Tennessee's offense rolling again after regionals
Tennessee's offense had a couple slow games to start the postseason, but it got right back on track in UT's two regional games against Virginia.
The Lady Vols outscored opponents 21-0 in three regional games. In their two games against Virginia, they hit .388 as a team with an on-base percentage of .500 and hit five home runs.
Another positive for Tennessee's offense is the standout individual performances the Lady Vols had over the weekend. It's clear their confidence is where it needs to be for the postseason, and it'll give them momentum going into the Alabama series.
Alabama's offense has to deal with Karlyn Pickens, Payton Gottshall
Starting pitchers Karlyn Pickens and Payton Gottshall have only gotten better as the season has gone on. And Alabama only scored one run against them during the regular-season series.
Pickens and Gottshall didn't give up a single run in the regional, and the duo held opposing hitters to a combined .109 over three games. They combined for 24 strikeouts over 19 innings.
No other advancing team posted shutouts in all its regional wins – every team gave up at least one run besides Tennessee. No other team has two pitchers whose ERAs rank in the top 10 in the country, and Pickens and Gottshall have the potential to take Tennessee all the way.
SUNDAY'S WIN:Why it's special for Tennessee softball seniors to lead Lady Vols back to NCAA super regional
Prediction
Tennessee 2, Alabama 0: Tennessee wins in two games, though they could be close results. But with the way the Lady Vols are playing right now, there aren't many teams who can stop them. If anything, Tennessee might crush Alabama the second time around with a College World Series berth within its grasp.
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.
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