How Karen Weekly’s bold infield change sent Tennessee softball back to WCWS

Karen Weekly isn’t afraid to take a gamble with Tennessee softball lineups in the postseason.

Last year, Weekly put three new hitters at the top of the lineup for Game 2 of the NCAA super regionals against Nebraska, which was an elimination game. The shakeup was exactly what the batting lineup needed, and Tennessee won two straight games to go to the Women’s College World Series.

But this year, Weekly made a much more significant change. She shifted the entire infield except shortstop Bella Faw going into NCAA regionals.

Weekly pulled third baseman Maddi Rutan from the lineup to get Makenzie Butt’s bat in the order and played Butt at first base, which is her natural position. That shifted Emma Clarke from first to second and Ella Dodge from second to third.

The risk paid off. The Lady Vols’ defense was as clean as it has been all season, and Butt was impactful in the lineup, especially in the 7-5 win over Virginia. Tennessee swept regionals and super regionals to advance to its third Women’s College World Series in the last four seasons.

The No. 7 seed Lady Vols (47-10) will open the WCWS against the winner of No. 2 seed Texas and Arizona State on May 28, with game time and TV designation to be announced later.

Weekly said a phrase her husband, Ralph, used to say bounced around in her mind: “There’s three kinds of people in the world – those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what the hell happened.”

She intended to be someone who makes things happen.

“I think you have to just go with it, and I just trust my gut on things. It’s not a 100%, but the percentage is pretty high,” Weekly said on May 19 going into super regionals. “I’ll tell you when things don’t go well, is when I don’t trust my gut. And I just had a gut feeling that this was what we need to do.”

Why Ella Dodge has thrived at third

Dodge’s position change is perhaps the most impressive of all. She started at second base last season as a redshirt freshman and started there every game this season. The shift from second to third base is drastic in terms of skillset and distance from the plate.

But Dodge has thrived. She attacked hits down the third baseline and showed incredible arm strength during regionals and super regionals. Weekly said she always moves Dodge around in practice because she’s a true utility player who could fill in for an injury at any position.

“Ella does really well when the ball is on her a bit quicker,” Weekly said. “I thought Ella’s technique was actually stronger than I’ve seen it all year at third base, just picking short hops off the ground and making plays in the timing that you want based on how the ball is hit to her.”

During Game 1 against Georgia, Dodge ran down the third baseline towards a chopper from UGA leadoff hitter Keirstin Roose.

Dodge scooped the ball in stride and made the throw to first while still running. She barely beat Roose, who she also had to throw around, because Dodge was nearly to home plate when she made the throw.

“Boy, that little chopper on the line that she came through and scooped up and threw on the run, that was an absolute gem,” Weekly said. “Most people don’t make that play.”

How Emma Clarke’s versatility paid off

Weekly has long praised Clarke’s ability to play any position – she has even taken reps at catcher in practice.

Clarke plays a lot of middle infield during the fall, Weekly said, because Faw has been hurt a lot during the offseason. Clarke hadn’t even played much first base until the season rolled around this year.

“Both Emma and Ella have expressed that they feel really, really comfortable, maybe even more comfortable at the positions they’re at right now,” Weekly said. “Emma likes that she kind of just roam and go get balls and not have to worry about the first-base coverage.”

None of it would have worked without the buy-in from the players and the extra reps they committed to in practice. Weekly said she couldn’t even count how many extra ground balls the infielders have taken since getting back from the SEC Tournament.

The buy-in and extra work quickly turned into a level of confidence that has fueled Tennessee’s defense.

“They play with so much energy. That’s the cool thing watching that infield out there,” Weekly said. “There’s so much eye contact, there’s so much great body language, there’s so much leaning on each other that I think they feel like they can make every play, and that’s what you want them to feel like.”

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: subscribe.knoxnews.com/offers