Drama, not great softball, dominates discourse after Tennessee vs Texas Tech in WCWS

Drama, not great softball, dominates discourse after Tennessee vs Texas Tech

(This story was updated to include new information.)

OKLAHOMA CITY – Tennessee softball and Texas Tech played an all-time Women's College World Series game on May 30 at Devon Park.

Two teams chock full of talent with two different styles of play faced off in a masterful chess match that took two extra innings to decide. Both defenses made game-winning play after game-winning play, hitters had to fight every pitch to get on base and the tension of every at-bat took your breath away at times.

Fans at the ballpark and across the country watching on ABC − besides the two innings the broadcast went dark because of technical issues − witnessed four All-American pitchers in Tennessee's Karlyn Pickens and Sage Mardjetko and Texas Tech's NiJaree Canady and Kaitlyn Terry square off in an old-school pitchers' duel.

And the game ended with a bang, a walk-off home run from Lady Vols infielder Emma Clarke.

It was an instant classic in a highly anticipated matchup that felt like had it been building up since last June. Former Tennessee third baseman Taylor Pannell, who scored the game-tying run to send it to extra innings, transferred to Texas Tech in a move that sparked controversy and call-outs against tampering by Tennessee coach Karen Weekly.

The conversation surrounding the game, which lingered into the morning after, isn't about the game. All anyone can talk about is what did or did not happen after the game.

Pannell, when asked specifically about the interaction in the postgame press conference, said Weekly took a shot at her in the handshake line.

"We were walking through the line just saying 'good game,' and she said that I made a mistake instead of saying 'good game,' which is kind of crazy," Pannell said. "Like, celebrate with your team. I just think it's funny she's still thinking about it. It's old news. Whatever."

Pannell's response went viral and start blowing up on social media.

Weekly had already said in her press conference, which preceded Texas Tech's, that she told Pannell, "Good game, like I say to every player. Good game."

The next day, ESPN aired a video of the handshake line, which showed Weekly giving Pannell a high-five and saying, "good game," and nothing else.

Pannell's claim was a shocker. In five seasons of covering Tennessee softball, I'd never witnessed Weekly completely lose her cool or say something disrespectful about another team's player.

I quickly texted Tennessee's sports information director to let him know what Pannell said, and asked if Weekly wanted to respond. The story had to be written, and I wanted to be fair to Weekly before publishing.

When I spoke to Weekly on the phone shortly after, I'd never heard her that upset. She was angry, but also seemed utterly confused about the way the postgame interaction had been perceived by Pannell, who spent three years at Tennessee after suffering a season-ending injury as a true freshman.

"If you rewatch at the tape of the handshake line, you’re going to see me go just as fast by her as anybody else," Weekly told me on the phone. "I didn’t even know where she was in the handshake line . . . that’s an outright lie. I said 'good game' like I said to every other player."

For what it's worth, Weekly has always been a complete professional when speaking with media members in my experience. I have never heard her allow as much emotion to show as she did on that phone call, and it felt like she was genuinely hurt by the accusation.

This is also the second weekend in a row that the storylines from a Texas Tech game have been dominated by postgame drama between a player who transferred to the Red Raiders and her former team.

A Florida fan was ejected from the super regional game against Texas Tech on May 22. An altercation involving Florida-turned-Texas Tech infielder Mia Williams' father, Jason Williams, who's a former Gators basketball star.

The campus police originally escorted Jason Williams out, who claimed a Florida fan hit his other daughter in the stands with a handheld paper fan while they celebrated Mia's hit. Jason Williams was allowed to return, and the Florida was ejected and banned from the super regional.

Ironically enough, Florida then refused to participate in the handshake line after losing to the Red Raiders in Game 3. That's not Texas Tech's fault, but clearly emotions ran high and boiled over during the three-game series.

Pannell's father, Brandon, took to social media the morning after the game. In now-deleted posts on X from May 31, which Knox News has screen shots of, he wrote "@KarenWeekly was right that my kid did make a mistake and that was play for her...."

Brandon Pannell also deleted his post that said, "Lost on the field but Tech is winning in life...." with a GIF of Looney Tunes cartoon character Daffy Duck lying in a pile of cash.

Only the players and coaches within earshot know exactly how it went down between Tennessee and Texas Tech in the handshake line. And the two people involved have conflicting accounts, while Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco stayed out of it.

"I went through the handshake line, nothing. It happened behind me," Glasco said in the postgame news conference. "So I don't know exactly what happened."

All I know is that the first story I wrote after an absolutely electric win for Tennessee wasn't about the joy on Clarke's face after mashing a game-winning run, or the pitching masterclass by Pickens and Mardjetko, who only allowed one run and five hits against a team that scored 70 runs in the NCAA Tournament before that game.

I wrote about drama, and I still am the next day, because people are still talking about that instead of the incredible display of softball by players who worked for a once-in-a-lifetime moment.

And that's a damn shame for everyone involved.

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/subscribe