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Tennessee softball pitcher Ashley Rogers returns for another season

KNOXVILLE, TN - May 22, 2021 - Pitcher Ashley Rogers #14 of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers during the 2021 NCAA Tournament regional game between the James Madison Dukes and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Caleb Jones/Tennessee Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE)- Tennessee softball All-America pitcher Ashley Rogers is returning for another season in the circle.

The right-handed pitcher from Athens, Tennessee is taking advantage of her COVID-19-exempt fifth year of eligibility for the 2023 season. Rogers made 25 appearances with 15 starts in the circle after battling through injury this past season. She led the Lady Vols’ pitching staff with a 2.01 ERA, four shutouts, and three saves in 104.1 innings pitched. Rogers also limited opposing batters to a .156 average and posted a team-best 0.82 WHIP.

Rogers pitched the 15th perfect game in program history against East Carolina on April 23. Rogers also tossed the longest individual outing in UT history, throwing a 13-inning shutout in Tennessee’s win over Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament.

Rogers enters her fifth season with her name already etched in Tennessee’s record books. The pitcher ranks third in program history with a 1.68 earned run average and fifth with 19 career shutouts and 633 strikeouts. She also ranks seventh in career victories with 59 total.

Rogers’s return balances out a pitching staff next season mixed with veteran experience and new faces. Rogers joins Canadian National Team member Nicola Simpson and rising junior Ryleigh White as returning throwers. The Lady Vols add senior transfer Payton Gottshall and true freshman duo Charli Orsini and Karlyn Pickens.