KNOXVILLE - The list of things Aubrey Leach can do as the leadoff hitter for Tennessee's seventh-ranked softball team is rather lengthy, so co-head coach Karen Weekly has adopted a simple way of explaining Leach's impact on the Lady Vols this season.
"I've said all year I think Aubrey Leach is the most underrated player in the country," Weekly said once again Monday.
Tennessee's junior second baseman is leading the Lady Vols into the Southeastern Conference softball tournament at Missouri with a .439 batting average and a .568 on-base percentage, both of which rank second in the conference.
Leach's knack for reaching base, whether by slap hitting, walking, bunting or standing in the box and driving pitches to all fields is one reason why the Lady Vols are in position to secure a top-eight seed in the NCAA tournament with their performance in the conference tournament.
"It's definitely something I put a lot of effort into, not just being stuck to one aspect of the game," Leach said.
Tennessee, the No. 4 seed in the SEC tournament, plays its first game in the single-elimination event today at 5 p.m. EDT on the SEC Network against fifth-seeded and 11th-ranked LSU, which defeated 12th seed Ole Miss on Wednesday.
Leach is on the watch list for USA Softball player of the year with senior shortstop Meghan Gregg, who is Tennessee's all-time leader in home runs and RBIs after driving in Leach dozens of times in the past three seasons.
"I love hitting behind Aubrey," Gregg said. "I feel like every time she's up, she gets on for me. I feel like I have a lot more opportunity to score runners with her in front of me. She always figures out a way to get on."
Even when she does not find a way on base, Leach's at-bats typically bring some benefit to Gregg, who has batted one or two spots behind Leach in the lineup most of the season. Against Kentucky on April 29, Leach made Wildcats starting pitcher Grace Baalman throw seven pitches before striking out to begin the bottom of the first inning.
Two batters later, Gregg homered. It was all the offense Tennessee needed in a 6-0 victory.
"She sees a lot of pitches, which helps me a lot," Gregg said. "When a pitcher has to pitch six or seven balls in one at-bat, I see a lot of her stuff. There's not as much mystery to the pitcher, I guess."
In Tennessee's 7-4 series-opening win over Mississippi State last Friday, Leach started the game with a seven-pitch walk, one of her team-leading 44 free passes on the year. The Lady Vols scored three runs in the inning and chased the Bulldogs' starting pitcher after just one-third of an inning.
"She has such a great eye at the plate," Weekly said. "She knows how to work the count, work the pitcher and really give her team an opportunity to see the pitcher before we send our second hitter up there. That's where I think she's so versatile, probably more versatile than anyone we've ever had in that role."
Now, with the arrival of the postseason, Leach will have an opportunity to show an even bigger audience why her coach believes she is one of the most underrated players in the country.
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.