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Alannah Leach is dealing with what Tennessee softball is calling a minor shoulder injury.
Leach started all three games in the Knoxville Regional and played in left field in the first two, but switched spots with Taelyn Holley to be the designated player during the regional final on May 17. She went 1-for-3 with an RBI-double and a walk.
Coach Karen Weekly said May 19 that the switch was due to Leach's shoulder injury, which she has been an issue all season. The injury was aggravated after a practice collision leading up to the regional final, and again when Leach slid into home plate during the game against Virginia on May 16.
Tennessee swept the regional to advance to the super regional for the fourth straight season, and the Lady Vols have a chance to make a repeat trip to the Women's College World Series for the first time since 2013.
No. 7 seed Tennessee (45-10) and will face No. 10 seed Georgia (41-18) in a best-of-three series at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium that begins May 21 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2). The winner will advance to the WCWS in Oklahoma City starting May 28.
Weekly said Leach could have played in the outfield in the regional final, but she didn't want to take any chances and make the injury worse. It was more important for Leach to stay in the batting lineup.
"In the middle of a game, I want her as comfortable as she can be, and not trying to calm down some pain in her shoulder before she goes up to bat," Weekly said. "So, the chances of it happening probably weren't that great, but I know Alannah, and it's just like the slide into home. She was going headfirst because she knew that was the only way she had a chance of being safe. She wasn't going to go feet first, which probably helps her shoulder. So, I just didn't want to put her in a position where she could tweak that thing in game."
Leach is having a breakout junior season, and she was Tennessee's only field player to land on an All-SEC team, earning the first all-conference honors of her career.
Leach is tied for first on the team with 12 home runs and a .696 slugging percentage. She's second on the team in batting average at .330 with 25 runs scored, 24 RBIs and a .433 on-base percentage.
She played her way into the starting lineup and has started nearly every game in left field since March 14 during the Mississippi State series. Leach has started 38 of her 53 appearances this season.
Leach dealt with a minor knee injury earlier this season and also switched spots with Holley during the Kentucky series and midweek at Duke before returning to left field during the Alabama series.
Leach starts across the outfield from her twin sister, Gabby Leach, who plays right field.
Weekly has praised the arm strength of the twins and their defensive abilities, saying "their arms in the corners are just money," on April 2 during the South Carolina series.
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: [email protected]; 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: Injury update on Tennessee softball outfielder Alannah Leach for super regional
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Leach started all three games in the Knoxville Regional and played in left field in the first two, but switched spots with Taelyn Holley to be the designated player during the regional final on May 17. She went 1-for-3 with an RBI-double and a walk.
Coach Karen Weekly said May 19 that the switch was due to Leach's shoulder injury, which she has been an issue all season. The injury was aggravated after a practice collision leading up to the regional final, and again when Leach slid into home plate during the game against Virginia on May 16.
Tennessee swept the regional to advance to the super regional for the fourth straight season, and the Lady Vols have a chance to make a repeat trip to the Women's College World Series for the first time since 2013.
No. 7 seed Tennessee (45-10) and will face No. 10 seed Georgia (41-18) in a best-of-three series at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium that begins May 21 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2). The winner will advance to the WCWS in Oklahoma City starting May 28.
Weekly said Leach could have played in the outfield in the regional final, but she didn't want to take any chances and make the injury worse. It was more important for Leach to stay in the batting lineup.
"In the middle of a game, I want her as comfortable as she can be, and not trying to calm down some pain in her shoulder before she goes up to bat," Weekly said. "So, the chances of it happening probably weren't that great, but I know Alannah, and it's just like the slide into home. She was going headfirst because she knew that was the only way she had a chance of being safe. She wasn't going to go feet first, which probably helps her shoulder. So, I just didn't want to put her in a position where she could tweak that thing in game."
Leach is having a breakout junior season, and she was Tennessee's only field player to land on an All-SEC team, earning the first all-conference honors of her career.
Leach is tied for first on the team with 12 home runs and a .696 slugging percentage. She's second on the team in batting average at .330 with 25 runs scored, 24 RBIs and a .433 on-base percentage.
She played her way into the starting lineup and has started nearly every game in left field since March 14 during the Mississippi State series. Leach has started 38 of her 53 appearances this season.
Leach dealt with a minor knee injury earlier this season and also switched spots with Holley during the Kentucky series and midweek at Duke before returning to left field during the Alabama series.
Leach starts across the outfield from her twin sister, Gabby Leach, who plays right field.
Weekly has praised the arm strength of the twins and their defensive abilities, saying "their arms in the corners are just money," on April 2 during the South Carolina series.
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: [email protected]; 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: Injury update on Tennessee softball outfielder Alannah Leach for super regional
Continue reading...
