Why Tennessee softball players are excited about strong core from WCWS run

The extreme heat in Knoxville didn't stop a crowd of young girls from spending the evening with Tennessee softball players, filling the outdoor field at Dick's House of Sport for more than an hour.

Twin sisters Alannah and Gabby Leach, who are going into their senior year with the Lady Vols, said it never gets old to see how much the community supports the team. Gabby isn't sure she'll ever get used to it, whether it's a packed Boost Her Club event or a sold-out Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.

"I love it so much, and it makes me sad thinking I’m going into my senior year, it’s slowly coming to an end," Alannah said.

The twin outfielders were joined by freshman catcher Elsa Morrison and junior shortstop Bella Faw at the event, where they played catch with the younger players and gave them hitting advice in the batting cages.

"Even from Indiana, I used to come to Tennessee softball camps," said Morrison, who moved to Farragut in high school. "Seeing any of the older girls that played softball was always so cool, and I hope they’ve had as much fun today as I did when I was watching the older girls."

For Morrison, the night was also a welcome chance to reunite with her teammates.

"I've been home for a week and I’m like, wow, I feel so disconnected from the team, I want to see everybody," she said. "So having those personal connections with each teammate and being able to miss your teammates, it’s just such a different feeling for me at least, and I love this team."

Tennessee is coming off its second straight appearance in the Women's College World Series semifinals, which was also its third trip in the past four seasons. For Faw and the Leaches, next season will be their last chance to help lead the team to its first national championship.

The Lady Vols have the benefit of returning nearly every starter, losing only star pitcher Karlyn Pickens to graduation and second baseman Ella Dodge to the transfer portal.

But Tennessee signed South Carolina second baseman Karley Shelton out of the portal, and she'll be a strong addition, especially at the plate.

After two trips to Oklahoma City, Gabby said good accountability across the team will help push Tennessee closer to its goal.

"It’s hard when new people come in, because you have to teach them the way we do things," she said. "So I think a lot of people returning, that’s the fun thing about it, is we all get to grow together."

Tennessee is bringing in a talented five-player freshman class, and Morrison said all of the newcomers will enhance the returning team. Alannah said it brings a "great level of comfort" knowing so many of them will be on the same page going into the fall after the lessons they learned together this season.

"I think we were great this year at reflecting on things and learning from it . . . and I hope we take that into next year," Alannah said. "Just letting go, learning from it, sticking to our process, that’s always going to be a great thing when we come together as a team and do that."

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: Why Tennessee softball players are excited about strong core from WCWS run