It wasn’t a surprise that Tennessee softball’s offense couldn’t overcome errors that led to unearned runs in its SEC tournament quarterfinal loss.

It felt inevitable that the Lady Vols’ inconsistent offense would catch up to them in the postseason, and it didn’t take long. No. 4 seed Tennessee didn’t have any offensive buffer for two critical errors and six unearned runs in the 6-1 loss to No. 5 seed Arkansas (40-11) at Jack Turner Softball Stadium in Athens, Georgia, on May 8. 

It was the fifth loss of the season when junior pitcher Karlyn Pickens (20-8) started and didn’t give up any earned runs. Her ERA went down to 0.92 in the loss.

“Facts are facts. There’s zero earned runs on there,” Tennessee coach Karen Weekly said. “I know (Pickens) is going to probably look at it a little differently, but … we talk about mistakes – we make a couple plays a little cleaner, we’re in a real battle. Who knows, maybe we’re in one of those extra inning ball games.”

Pickens’ performance should have been enough for Tennessee to win. But the Lady Vols’ defense faltered twice and committed errors in crucial moments – ones they couldn’t afford to make with their slow offensive day.

The signs of a postseason loss like this have been there from the season opener on Feb. 6 when Tennessee lost 7-1 to Nebraska. It was the first of five losses this season when Pickens started and didn’t give up a single earned run. The Huskers broke open the game in the fifth inning when multiple fielding errors led to five runs.

The Lady Vols went on to lose 1-0 to Oregon on an unearned run when Pickens struck out 13. Weekly even got strategic with her pitching staff in the Texas series in April so Tennessee wouldn’t lose another pitcher’s duel and waste another excellent performance from Pickens.

The Lady Vols didn’t look like a team playing its best softball in the postseason against Arkansas. But they haven’t looked like a team building toward that for the last few weeks, losing four of their last seven games of the regular season.

A few weeks ago, Tennessee was on track to secure a top-8 seed in the NCAA tournament, which would have given it hosting privileges until Oklahoma City if UT made a run the Women’s College World Series. Now, the Lady Vols are floundering going into the selection show on Sunday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

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Tennessee should safely host a regional as a top-16 seed, but its place in the top 8 seeds is in question after losing their first game of the SEC tournament.

Weekly pointed to their road series wins over Texas and Oklahoma along with no losses to unranked teams as part of their case for a top-8 seed. Tennessee has also played 28 of its games against ranked opponents. The Lady Vols played every reigning power conference champion from last season (UCLA, Northwestern, Duke and Texas).

“I think we’re either second or third or tied for second in terms of the number of games against top 25,” Weekly said. “I think sometimes people look at wins, but if another team is playing a bunch of teams that are in 26 through 50, and we played a bulk in the top 25, that’s putting yourself out there over and over and over again.”

Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on X @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.