As much as Tennessee’s newest pitchers would benefit from seeing teammate Ashley Rogers at work, they needed to hear from her as well.
The Lady Vols star right-hander received that message from her coach, Karen Weekly, early this softball season. In particular, Weekly wanted freshman Karyln Pickens and transfer Payton Gottshall to get an earful from Rogers, who has a credibility no coach can match.
“We can tell them your stuff is great and look what you’ve done in practice,” Weekly said. “But to hear it from Ashley, somebody they respect as an All-American . . . somebody who’s had so much respect at this level. In their cases, someone they’ve watched on TV. To hear her say: You’re dang good. Glad you’re here . . .”
So, Rogers has talked and talked to them. And apparently, they’ve listened. Pickens and Gottshall have joined their teammate in forming a weekend starting rotation that’s become the foundation of the Lady Vols’ season. Tennessee (35-5, 13-2 SEC), which hosts Florida this weekend at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium, is first in the conference and is ranked No. 3 nationally.
With Rogers serving as both their counsel and their biggest fan, Pickens and Gottshall have combined to win 17 games. Seven of those victories have come during conference play.
Rogers, the former Meigs County High standout, also has tended to her credibility, showing the way with a team-leading 13 victories. The graduate student ranks second nationally in hits allowed per seven innings (2.54) and fourth in earned run average (0.75). She’s thrown seven complete games, four shutouts and struck out 133 batters.
This week, Rogers had herself a week. She was chosen third overall Monday in the Women’s Professional Fastpitch draft. On Tuesday, she was named SEC pitcher of the week. Finally, on Wednesday, Rogers and teammate Kiki Malloy were named among 25 finalists for USA Softball’s national player of the year award.
Weekly thinks Rogers has served as a great role model in how she competes and prepares. The kinesiology major has used her academic pursuits to study pitching biomechanics and softball injuries, gathering info to help future pitchers. She may have helped herself by realizing, in certain instances, less is more.
“She’s learned to be smarter with her bullpens,” said Weekly, referencing the work Rogers does between starts. “When she was in high school and when she first got here, her answer to ‘my curveball isn’t working’ is I’m going to go in and throw 200 curveballs. Now I think she understands quality over quantity and valuing every pitch.”
The example set by Rogers might benefit Pickens the most, since she’s a freshman. She’s experiencing what Rogers experienced in finding her footing in the pitcher’s circle.
“Ashley had those games where if her rise (ball) wasn’t working she’d be kind of like ‘Oh, I don’t know if I can win.’ ” Weekly said. “Now if her rise isn’t working, she’s got her curve and her change-up. She’s got a lot of other things. Just to watch how she handles adversity.”
And then for her fellow pitchers to hear Rogers say: You’ve got the right stuff. You can do it, too.
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Dan Fleser is a 1980 graduate of the University of Missouri, who has covered University of Tennessee athletics since 1988. He is a 2022 inductee to the Tennessee Sportswriters Hall of Fame. He can be reached at danfleser3@gmail.com.