It’s no secret that Tennessee softball’s offense has been on an up-and-down ride during the 2026 regular season.
Despite the inconsistencies, the offense got back into the groove over the week during the team’s last two midweek games, most recently a 13-5 run-rule victory in five innings over Kennesaw State on Wednesday.
The Lady Vols (33-6, 9-6 SEC) have found a common theme in their six losses this season. In the total six games lost, the team has scored just seven runs combined, making the issue apparent that if the Lady Vols want to get back on track come tournament time, they’ll need everyone swinging.
“The thing I want to see is that we don’t change our approach or our mentality, regardless of who’s on the other side of the field,” Tennessee softball head coach Karen Weekly said. “Whether it’s the SEC, a ranked team, or an unranked team, we go in there, and we play with aggressiveness and relentlessness, and that’s what I saw these last two nights.”
The offense came in all forms against the Owls (7-29, 3-12 CUSA), and it didn’t take long for the team to come out gunning.
Filling in for Sophia Knight at the leadoff spot, Gabby Leach led off the day with a double. That was the first of seven doubles for the day for the Lady Vols. Leach finished the evening going 1-for-1 at the plate with the double, as she walked her next two plate appearances.
Ella Dodge brought her home on a two-run home run to open the scoring for the Lady Vols, yet the Dodge bomb was the only long-ball of the day.
“(Dodge)’s definitely one of our leaders,” Weekly said. “She’s always providing energy on the field, she’s always locked in, always focused. That’s a great example for the rest of our team.”
Taelyn Holley kept the line moving in the first with her first double of the evening. The hit brought in another run, giving the Lady Vols an early two-run lead. Holley was the main attraction on offense, finishing the night with four hits in four at-bats, including the walk-off double. She finished the evening with four doubles.
Leading into Wednesday’s game, Holley had gone hitless since March 15 in the team’s meeting against Mississippi State.
“I think just going up there and swinging, trusting my preparation,” Holley said. “Working with Craig (Snider) the past couple of weeks, it’s been really difficult, but just going up there and trusting my process and staying through the ball and having a good eye on it.”
Holley, a freshman, was joined by two of her fellow classmates, McCall Sims and Meredith Barnhart, both of whom tallied a hit and an RBI in the win.
While the box score reads just two stolen bases, the Lady Vols were as aggressive as ever on the basepaths against the Owls. Whether it was bunts or stretching a single into a double while the defense was off guard, the team tried it on Wednesday.
“A lot of those doubles we created by pushing the envelope and getting ourselves to second base,” Weekly said. “So I love to see that aggressiveness, and what we talked about postgame is, you know, a lot of games are maybe going to present one opportunity for you to do that, and we need to be creating the habits we created tonight so that we’re ready to take that opportunity.”
Now the key is keeping this momentum rolling, and Weekly knows it all just comes down to the consistency of the process.
“Just keeping the same fire,” Holley said. “Obviously, we are going to Kentucky, and it’s SEC play, no matter the record. So just bringing that fire, we’re going to hit first, so to be able to attack that first inning and set a tone.”
The team moves forward with a three-game series against Kentucky starting Saturday, April 11.
