Meet the WCWS-bound Lady Vols

OKLAHOMA CITY — Tennessee is heading to its seventh Women's College World Series in program history. Get to know some members of the final softball team to be known as the Lady Vols before the eight-team, double-elimination event begins Thursday.

CJ McClain

McClain, the lone Nashville native on the Lady Vols roster, is a freshman who played for Stratford in high school. In the SEC Tournament title game against Auburn, she dropped a routine fly ball to left field that allowed the Tigers to force extra innings, where they eventually won the championship. But, in Game 3 of the Super Regional against Florida State, McClain entered the game as a pinch runner and scored what ended up being the game-winning run.

Rainey Gaffin

Gaffin, a Thornton, Colo. native, was the star of Super Regionals, hurling a complete game in Game 3 to clinch a spot for Tennessee in the Women's College World Series. Her 2.19 earned-run average is the lowest of the team's four-person pitching staff. And at the plate, she's batting .318 with five homers and just 26 strikeouts.

Annie Aldrete

One key to the Women's College World Series for Tennessee will be to get Aldrete's bat going. One of the team's hottest hitters throughout the regular season has gone cold during the NCAA Tournament. In 19 tournament at-bats, Aldrete has only one hit. Her average has fallen to .302, though her .630 slugging percentage still ranks among the team leaders. She's also second on the team with 15 homers.

Taylor Koenig

Nearly half of Koenig's 38 hits this season have been home runs - she has 17, ranking among the SEC's top 10 long-ball hitters. Naturally, she also leads the team in slugging (minimum 10 at-bats) at .657. The Mira Loma, Calif. native made several remarkable plays at first base during the Super Regionals as well.

Shaliyah Geathers

In the Game 1 win over Florida State, Geathers, a Chattanooga native, delivered a crucial base hit up the middle to score Gretchen Aucoin, the game's tying run. She's made only two errors all season, one of the fewest totals on a team known for its gloves. As a sophomore, Geathers is batting .322 during her first season as a regular.

Gretchen Aucoin

Aucoin, who is from Ocean Springs, Miss., is third on the team in innings pitched behind Gaffin and Erin Gabriel. In 28 appearances, the junior is 9-2 with an ERA of 3.60. Opponents are hitting just .216 off her, but she's allowed more walks (52) than any of the other three pitchers on the Lady Vols. At the plate, her on-base percentage is .453, and she's gone deep nine times.

Meghan Gregg

Gregg is Tennessee's star freshman, and she seems to be at her best when the game is on the line. She hit a big home run against Utah earlier in the NCAA Tournament and followed that up with a walkoff single in Game 1 against the Seminoles. Gregg, a Williamson, Ga. native, is tied for third on the team with 13 homers and is slugging at a .614 clip. Her power should translate nicely to Oklahoma City, where softballs tend to leave the yard in a hurry.

Tory Lewis

Lewis, from Chattanooga, holds a .333 batting average, which is the best on the team. Only nine of her 46 hits have gone for extra bases. Though power isn't her forte, and she's driven in only 23 runs, she gets on base regularly and doesn't strike out often — attributes that have made her a mainstay in the Tennessee lineup the past few seasons.