The Tennessee Lady Vols pitcher, Karlyn Pickens, just exceeded the world record for the fastest NCAA softball pitch recorded in history. On Monday, March 24th, the Tennessee Lady Vols played the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks in Knoxville, Tennessee, at the Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. The Lady Vols won the game 3-2
The 6’1 junior, Karyln Pickens, pitched the fastest underhand softball pitch ever recorded in NCAA history with a whopping speed of 78.2 MPH. The previous record holder was Monica Abbot, who reached a 77 MPH pitch in the National Pro Fastpitch game in 2012. Abbot herself was a former Tennessee Lady Vol. Abbot tells the story of how she helped Pickens fine-tune her pitching and acted as a mentor, since helping her, she knew she would someday break the world record. Pickens stated that so many emotions were involved, but she was excited to celebrate this monumental moment with her team. The news of her record-breaking pitch has impacted so many young softball players, inspiring them to keep pushing, to one day be just like Karlyn Pickens.
