After Tennessee’s 2-1 extra-inning win over Texas Tech at the WCWS on May 30, a postgame handshake-line dispute erupted. Tennessee coach Karen Weekly denied former Lady Vol Taylor Pannell’s account, calling it an “outright lie,” while Pannell said Weekly told
When Tennessee and Texas Tech stretched their Women’s College World Series matchup into extra innings on Saturday, May 30 in Oklahoma City, the Lady Vols finally pulled away with a 2-1 win—ending the game with Emma Clarke’s walk-off home run in the ninth.
But the final out didn’t settle everything.
The SEC–Big 12 showdown was quickly pulled into a public handshake-line dispute involving Tennessee coach Karen Weekly and former Lady Vol turned Texas Tech third baseman Taylor Pannell. After the game, Weekly and Pannell offered sharply different accounts of what was said during the postgame handshake line.
In a phone conversation with Cora Hall of the Knoxville New Sentinel. part of a national news network. Weekly denied Pannell’s version of events. Pannell had alleged that Weekly did not tell her “good game. ” instead telling her she made a mistake during the matchup. Weekly went further, saying Pannell’s account is “an outright lie.”.
“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 Hall. “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.”
Weekly repeated that denial at her own postgame news conference at Devon Park. When asked what she said to Pannell, Weekly answered: “Good game, like I say to every player. Good game.”
Pannell, who transferred to Texas Tech this past offseason, told a different story in Texas Tech’s postgame news conference. She described a simple exchange as the teams walked through the line.
“We were walking through the line, just saying ‘good game,’ and she (Weekly) said that I made a mistake instead of good game, which, it’s kind of crazy,” Pannell said. “Like celebrate with the team, and I just think it’s funny she’s still thinking about it, but it’s old news, whatever.”
On the field, Pannell had played a key role in Texas Tech’s comeback effort. She went 1-for-4, with her lone hit coming in the top of the seventh inning. She also scored the game-tying run in that inning on a sacrifice fly from Desirae Spearman on a play at the plate that was initially called out but overturned after a challenge from Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco.
Tennessee’s path to the finish was defined by Clarke’s ninth-inning swing. a walk-off home run that sent the Lady Vols into the WCWS semifinals for the second consecutive season. From there, Tennessee will play the winner of Sunday’s double-elimination game between No. 2 Texas and the loser of No. 1 Alabama/No. 4 Nebraska at noon ET on Monday, June 1.
Texas Tech’s schedule turns quickly. With the loss, the Red Raiders will play No. 8 UCLA at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 31 in a double-elimination game. The team is also chasing a record with its bracket position—seeking to become the lowest-seeded team to win the WCWS in tournament history as the 11th-seed.
The handshake-line dispute may be the loudest part of the aftermath, but the stakes of the night were just as clear: one team moves on, another has to sprint back into play. For Weekly and Pannell, the extra innings ended on the scoreboard. The disagreement is still running.
WCWS Tennessee softball Texas Tech softball Karen Weekly Taylor Pannell Emma Clarke handshake dispute Oklahoma City extra innings
Who even cares, it’s just a handshake.
I mean if she said “good game” then why is it a whole thing? Sounds like sour grapes to me. Coaches be dramatic.
Wait so the coach actually lied about what was said at the handshake? That’s insane over one game. But also maybe Pannell’s just mad bc Tennessee won in extra innings or whatever, and now she’s rewriting history.
Sounds like they’re arguing about one sentence at the handshake line and calling it an “outright lie”… like can we get the audio or video or something? Half these articles cut off before the full story anyway. I swear I heard somewhere Weekly said something about a missed call or like the ump made a bad decision, so maybe that’s where Pannell got it from. Either way, rewatch the tape like the coach said, but the tape from what angle??