Meghan Gregg looked at the scoreboard Tuesday night and saw the obvious effect hitting had on Tennessee's softball team.
The senior third baseman searched beyond the 8-0 victory over Memphis, though, and saw something more in her teammates' faces.
"I saw a lot of smiles I haven't seen in awhile." she said. "I think we were having a lot of fun."
Such enjoyment will be harder to come by this weekend, when No. 10 Tennessee (34-8, 5-7 SEC) hosts No. 14 LSU (32-7, 7-4) in a three-game series beginning Friday at Lee Stadium (TV: ESPN2, 7 p.m.).
Tennessee has scored four total runs in its last six conference games and has been shut out three times. In those games, UT is 3-for-34 (.088) with runners in scoring position.
LSU, meanwhile, has an ERA of 1.11 and has held league opponents to three runs or fewer in nine games.
In conference play, something to smile about hitting-wise involves two components.
The Lady Vols are familiar with Tigers pitchers Allie Walljasper and Carley Hoover. They've watched fresh video of them in action and likely have tried to simulate their pitches in practice.
Still, it's a matter of winning their share of the pitcher/hitter duels or, as Lady Vols leadoff hitter Aubrey Leach said Thursday, "It's really who shows up each day."
"You just do the best you can do," UT co-head coach Ralph Weekly said. "It's not like other sports where you've got to get your outside shooting going or your inside shooting going. In this game, you've got to hit their pitches. We haven't done an exceptional job of that recently."
In this case, any hits might have to go a long way. The Lady Vols have scored three total runs in their last two SEC victories and might face similar circumstances this weekend.
"We've won some games 1-0," Weekly said. "I think runs are going to be hard to come by this weekend. If we're going to be successful, it may be a 1-0 game.
Leach believes hitting's mental component is more important in conference play.
"Everyone is physically prepared," she said. "You wouldn't be here if you weren't. So definitely throughout the SEC, it's definitely a mental thing."
Leach said practice and video study serve the purpose of "just getting in a mental groove. Having the same process and approach every time you step in the batter's box."
Gregg hopes that Tuesday's performance will allow the Lady Vols to relax more as well.
"We definitely have started pressing," she said. "I've felt myself doing it.
"I think sometimes we get all the outside world coming in, listening to all that, instead of staying in our inner circle and trusting each other."