Game 1 between Tennessee softball and Alabama has been delayed after the original game time was pushed back three hours.The No. 8 Lady Vols (38-7, 12-6 SEC) were scheduled to face the No. 3 Tide (43-4, 15-3) at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium at 4 p.m. ET on April 25 on SEC Network+. But with rain in the forecast for most of the day, the game time was pushed back the dat before to 7 p.m.With rain still expected in the area around the new game time, the first pitch was pushed back again to 7:30 p.m.The matchup will feature two of the best and deepest pitching staffs in the country.
Tennessee leads the nation with a 1.20 ERA, and Alabama is No. 3 at 1.62, which ranks second in the SEC. The two teams lead the nation in hits allowed per seven innings, too, Tennessee at No. 1 (3.15) and Alabama at No. 2 (4.17).Senior ace Karlyn Pickens (11-5), the reigning back-to-back SEC Pitcher of the Year, leads the Lady Vols' pitching staff with 95 innings pitched. Pickens has a 1.40 ERA and 126 strikeouts on the season.
Junior pitcher Jocelyn Briski (18-1) leads the Tide with a 1.50 ERA and 141 strikeouts.Tennessee had a weekend off from league play but swept Kentucky in its last SEC series. Alabama swept the Wildcats last weekend.Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribeThis article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee softball in weather delay for Game 1 vs Alabama