With SEC Tournament play starting this week, for many teams it brings new challenges, new opportunities and, most importantly, a new season.
After struggling through a rough stretch where No. 7 Tennessee lost seven of 10 games, including three-straight conference series losses, the Lady Vols were able to head into the postseason as one of the hottest teams in the conference.
“We’re very proud of this team and how they’ve finished the season,” co-head coach Karen Weekly said. “Finishing in the top four of the SEC is no easy feat with how tough this conference is.”
Tennessee, winner of 12 of its last 14 contests, aims to keep that style of play, headed into a conference tournament that co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly say is the best field of teams they may face in the postseason.
“We’re heading into what is the toughest tournament, short of the College World Series,” Weekly said. “Because of the quality of teams in this tournament, it doesn’t matter who you play.
“It’s going to be an extremely good game, tough battle and I think, just a really good way to get us prepared for postseason play.”
Twelve of the conference’s 13 teams all made a bid for the tournament, and, due to many of them teetering on that ever-important RPI ranking to host a Super Regional, each game promises to be a back and forth affair.
One of those teams looking for a strong run through the tournament to solidify their chances of hosting a Super Regional is the Lady Vols, who need a top-eight seed when the selection committee decides next week.
“Every time we take the field, we’re trying to win,” Ralph Weekly said on Monday. “We’re going to do what we can do to win. We’ve got to play it one game at a time. We’re trying to get a top eight seed.”
Like any program in the SEC, Tennessee can only go as far as its pitchers can take it, and the Lady Vols have two in junior Matty Moss and sophomore Caylan Arnold, who have been instrumental in their run of success to close out the season.
With two true freshmen behind them on the roster in Gabby Sprang and Ashley Morgan, Tennessee had to rely heavily on the arms of its two experienced pitchers.
Having a severe lack of depth at the position last season contributed heavily to the Lady Vols’ Super Regional exit against Texas A&M in 2017. But, as the 2018 postseason approaches, it’s an area that the coaching staff feels more confident in, despite the struggles that remain where depth is concerned.
“I think we’re in a better place this year,” Karen Weekly said. “As Caylan Arnold has told you guys in interviews, she’s in a better place than she was last year. I feel better about where we are right now with those two pitchers than we did at this point in time last year.”
As important as pitching is, especially in postseason play, hitting is an area that, statistically, when Tennessee does well, translates into wins.
The Lady Vols ranked second in the conference in team batting average (.311) and second in runs scored (327), trailing only No. 8 Georgia and No. 4 Florida in both of those categories, respectively.
Two contributors to the team’s hitting success have been junior second baseman Aubrey Leach, leading the SEC in runs scored (72), and senior shortstop Meghan Gregg, who leads the conference in RBIs with 66.
“I think we’re hitting the ball pretty good,” Ralph Weekly said. “I think we’re hitting the ball good in the clutch. We’ve got a couple of players who are hitting lights out and that’s helping us.”
As Thursday’s matchup approaches, Ralph Weekly is pleased with where his team is, and believes it can only get better as it prepares for a deep run in the SEC Tournament and beyond.
“I’d say this team has overachieved,” Ralph Weekly said. “And can continue to overachieve. They’re playing hard and they’re winning games. They’re fighting and that’s about all a coach can ask for.”
The fourth-seeded Lady Vols traveled to Columbia, MO, on Tuesday, but will have to wait to see who their upcoming opponent may be, as they will play the winner of No. 5-seed LSU and No. 12-seed Ole Miss, a game that takes place on Wednesday.
