Emma Clarke felt 'so much joy' after walk-off homer for Tennessee softball in WCWS

OKLAHOMA CITY — Tennessee softball infielder Emma Clarke breathed evenly in the batter's box as she fixed her eyes on Texas Tech pitcher Kaitlyn Terry in the bottom of the ninth inning.

>The sophomore had taken a ball to start the at-bat, and she liked what she saw on the next pitch. Clarke swung away, sending the ball flying over the center field wall at Devon Park to walk it off for Tennessee 2-1 on May 30.

>Clarke threw up her arms as she rounded the bases, and her teammates clambered out of the dugout to wait for her at home plate. She jumped and landed with two feet on the plate before she was smothered.

>"Just so much joy. I had so many thoughts," Clarke said. "But I immediately just looked up and started to give God all the glory because I'm so grateful to be in this position, to be on this team with these people, to be able to have opportunities to be in moments like this even when they don't work out. It's literally such a blessing. I just couldn't do it without the girls to my left and right."

>The win over No. 11 seed Texas Tech (58-8) sends the No. 7 seed Lady Vols (49-10) to the Women's College World Series semifinals without falling out of the winner's bracket for the first time since 2013.

>Clarke said she was just looking to swing at any strikes and get something going to lead off the ninth inning.

>"I just wanted to put the ball in play any way I could, and it worked out," she said.

>

CLARKE CALLED GAME

LADY VOLS WIN pic.twitter.com/RGc5jWXwVo

— Tennessee Softball (@Vol_Softball) May 30, 2026Clarke leads the team with 14 home runs this season. It was her fourth of the NCAA Tournament and first at the WCWS.

>"She's just a beast. I tease her every day, because sometimes she'll take a little something off her swing. I'm like, 'Man, let the beast play,' " Tennessee coach Karen Weekly said. "When she gets after it and releases the barrel with everything, good things tend to happen. She's just matured so much.

>"The thing our team loves about Emma, she's our hype person. She is just full energy all the time, all the time. She's everybody's biggest cheerleader."

>Tennessee nearly won the game in regulation with a 1-0 lead in the top of the seventh inning. Sophia Knight made a stellar throw to home plate after catching a flyout in center field for the second out.

>But Texas Tech challenged the original out call at home plate, and it was overturned after revealing catcher Elsa Morrison missed the tag on former Tennessee third baseman Taylor Pannell sliding home. The game went to extra innings tied 1-1.

>The Lady Vols' defense was crucial, making winning plays all game. Clarke was responsible for some of them, including fielding a high chopper to second base perfectly and beating the runner to first by inches in the fourth inning when it was still scoreless.

>"Emma Clarke, just like (a) ball magnet. Every ball hit her way, she's going to field, they're going to make a play," senior pitcher Karlyn Pickens said. "I think that just gives us the most confidence to be able to throw our pitches right in the zone knowing our defense is going to be there to make the plays. Gives us a lot of confidence."

class="exclude-from-newsgate">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

>This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee softball in WCWS semifinals behind Emma Clarke's walk-off home run