University of Tennessee Athletics
Vines, Leach Thrive At Louisville Slugger Hit Club
August 16, 2015 | Softball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Earlier this month, Tennessee softball freshmen Brooke Vines and Aubrey Leach participated in the Louisville Slugger Hit Club, which featured 10 of the nation’s best hitters entering their freshman year of college.
2015 Louisville Slugger Hit Club
- Cherish Burks - OF, Oregon
- Reagan Dykes - C, Alabama
- Morganne Flores - C, Washington
- Shay Knighten - IF, Oklahoma
- Aubrey Leach - IF, Tennessee
- Amanda Lorenz - OF, Florida
- Lily Mann - OF, Florida
- Tannon Snow - 3B, Washington
- Alex Sobczak - 3B, Michigan
- Brooke Vines - OF, Tennessee
The 2015 Louisville Slugger Hit Club was a four-day event that took place Aug. 1-4 in Huntington Beach, Calif. Ten of the top graduated high school seniors in the nation were invited to the Hit Club after competing at qualifying regional tournaments. The 10 participants received coaching and tips from softball greats such as Sue Enquist, Jessica Mendoza, Jen Schroeder, Katie Schroeder and Morgan Stuart and renowned sports psychiatrist Ken Ravizza.
Vines earned the Best All-Around Award and lead all participants with a blazing 2.61 home-to-first time and finished second in bunt (points for hitting a cone) and target accuracy drills. Her overall athleticism and skill impressed coaches and Hit Club organizers, who noted that she can cover ground quickly with her long strides. Vines is coming off of a stellar senior season at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, hitting .465 with seven homers and 29 stolen bases. She ranked as the No. 7 player in the 2015 Full Count Softball Hot 100.
Leach received the Hit Club’s Hustle Award and finished second overall in Hit Club event points. She displayed a 2.69 home-to-first time (tied for third) and displayed outstanding bat control during competitions. She came in second in the bunt for accuracy drill and blew away the field in the “bouncing ball bat tap” drill with 63 consecutive bounces of the ball off her bat. Leach hit .594 and stole 49 bases as a senior at The Woodlands High School and earned first-team All-American honors by four different organizations (American Family Insurance/USA Today All-USA, FloSoftball, MaxPreps, NFCA).
The 2015 Tennessee freshman class was ranked No. 2 in the nation by Full Count Softball. For the first time in program history, UT will have two freshmen (Vines – 2.61, Leach – 2.69) who with home-to-first times in the 2.6s.
