UT Lady Vols softball is better now that Brooke Vines has returned to lineup

Tennessee went to Hawaii for spring break and came back with six victories.

The Lady Vols also returned with Brooke Vines as a participant rather than a spectator. The junior utility player, who missed the first 25 games while recovering from a shoulder injury, appeared in all six games in Honolulu. She hit .500 (9-for-18) and drove in four runs.

With Vines back, Tennessee (30-1, 3-0 SEC) has more depth and experience for SEC play, which resumes Friday with a three-game series at South Carolina (25-4, 2-1).

"I think it just gives us more momentum," teammate Meghan Gregg said on Wednesday. "I think we're still going to keep working as hard as we have been without Brooke. Having Brooke back just gives us some more confidence in our lineup."

Last season, Vines had a .385 batting average and drove in 59 runs. She had a hit in each game of the Super Regional against Texas A&M.

Given the nature of her recovery, Vines' return this season turned out to be almost a surprise.

"Once she underwent a second procedure in December, we were a little concerned that she'd be out the whole season," UT co-head coach Karen Weekly said. "We were preparing for that. So it was really a blessing, an unexpected blessing, that we were able to get her back this year."

Weekly said the plan is to slot Vines fifth in Tennessee's batting order. In that spot, she will come up behind Gregg and Chelsea Seggern, who have 49 and 47 RBIs, respectively.

"I'm really happy with that," Gregg said. "I think it puts a lot of pressure on the pitchers. ... So as long as we're producing and having really good at-bats, we're going to keep putting pressure on other pitchers, which is just going to tire them out faster."

Vines' return also enhances her leadership presence.

"She's part of our leadership group," Gregg said. "I think when she was hurt, it kind of took her away from the team a little bit because she always had rehab and wasn't really with the team as much.

"Now that she's back, she definitely has a bigger presence as a leader and she can actually lead by example, too, instead of just leading from the side."

Good timing

Tennessee's first trip to Hawaii since 2004 had a lot to do with timing.

"It was the first time in a long time our SEC bye week had coincided with spring break," Weekly said, "and I don't think you can really make a trip like that unless you can do it over spring break."

Surprised by honor

Tennessee's Caylan Arnold was caught off guard by being named SEC pitcher of the week.

"It's a big deal," she said. "But I was kind of shocked because I thought there were a lot of things that I needed to work on, which I do. I'm grateful for it, but I'm still not satisfied with my performance."

Arnold (13-0) was 2-0 with 21 strikeouts in five appearances in Hawaii.