'I hope I live through him': How Tennessee pitcher Ashley Rogers inspired by memory of father

Zaida Puni paused for a moment, stealing a glance over at Ashley Rogers before speaking.

"Dang, I’m about to start crying," Puni said, trying to come up with words to describe what the Tennessee softball senior’s leadership means to her. Rogers quickly told her to stop the tears from coming as the pair fielded questions after beating Texas 5-2 in the Knoxville Super Regional.

"It’s fun playing behind her, she competes. Her leadership is …," the junior third baseman trailed off.

"She’s always there for us, no matter what. On and off the field, she cares about you. But she just wants to win," Puni said, stopping herself again. "I’m sorry."

"God dang, Zaida," Rogers said, wiping away a few tears.

OKLAHOMA CITY: Tennessee softball's path to WCWS final and why it will – and won't – win its first title

'JUST JOY': Tennessee softball slaps an eighth Women's College World Series berth on the wall

KIKI MILLOY: What Karen Weekly, Tennessee softball teammates said of Kiki Milloy's stunning catch vs Texas

The pair laughed for a moment before Puni continued.

"It’s been an amazing two years playing with her," said Puni, getting choked up. "Obviously we’re not going to stop. But she’s just a good person. She cares about you on and off the field, but she always has your best interest at heart, and she’ll be there for you, all the time."

Puni's touching tribute came on the eve of the fourth-seeded Lady Vols advancing to their first Women's College World Series since 2015. Tennessee (49-8) begins its journey in Oklahoma City against No. 5 Alabama (45-20) on Thursday (noon ET, ESPN).

The accomplishment is special for Rogers. Not just because she cemented her legacy after dedicating five seasons to the program, and not only because she found a renewed joy in the game this season. Rogers has reached the pinnacle of success every softball player strives for, which is all her late father, Loring, ever wanted for her.

Why winning with Tennessee means more for Rogers

Lynda Rogers was already in tears in the stands at Bogle Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas, as she watched her daughter in the circle, one strike away from an SEC Tournament title.

She was surrounded by other parents as she yelled out her routine cheer: "Two strikes, two outs, finish!" It's a familiar sound for the Lady Vols, because Lynda rarely misses a game, and she remembers every one she missed.

Rogers tells her mother she can’t hear her during games – but she admitted she does hear "the greatest softball mom ever" sometimes.

When Rogers caught the final out, she hurled the bright yellow ball into the dirt before throwing both her glove and face mask in celebration. It's a trait that Ashley gets from Loring, according to Lynda.

"He was intense – like Bruce Pearl intense," Lynda said referring to the former Tennessee basketball coach now at Auburn. "If you watched him coach basketball … he was Bruce Pearl on the sidelines, yelled the entire time, breaking clipboards. That throwing the ball down – that's not me. That's her daddy."

Rogers’ father was a passionate Tennessee fan, but he didn't get to see his daughter achieve historic levels of success this season wearing his favorite shade of orange. He tragically passed away from a heart attack nine months after Ashley committed to Tennessee as a sophomore star for Meigs County.

"It wasn't even our wildest dreams really," Lynda said. "But it just made his life for her to come here and play."

He's always in Rogers' mind in big moments, like catching that final out to sweep the SEC titles and making the program's eighth WCWS.

"It just means a lot to be here and represent everything – I hope – that he stood for," Rogers said with tears in her eyes. "I hope I live through him, because I know he’d be so happy and proud of me."

Loring's spirit lives on in Ashley and her brother, Andrew, who's a manager for the Lady Vols, at Tennessee. They didn't let tragedy stop them from pursuing the success he always wanted for them.

"They're so proud and happy that they are so successful, because they knew that would have brought him joy," Lynda said. "I think that's where they're sad in (winning) the championship, because he would have really loved to have been here."

How Ashley Rogers found balance in her father's advice

Rogers caught herself slipping into negative thoughts after her first game this season.

The pressure she always put on herself and the fear of messing up was a difficult mindset to break out of. But Rogers realized her perfectionism was holding her back – both from playing her best and finding joy in the game.

"The thing I was most angry at myself about is that it was a choice," Rogers said. "The beginning of the year, I was like 'No, I don't want to have my senior year go out that way, no matter what happens.' "

Her drive and passion was instilled in her by Loring, who always told her to never be complacent. He cared so deeply about his kids' success that he built a gym and softball diamond on their family farm in Athens.

Her father's advice molded her into who she is, but she was making herself miserable at times, which wasn't what Loring wanted for her.

"(He saw) that potential that we didn't even see in ourselves," Rogers said. "As I've grown, and just seeing how good I could be and looking back in retrospect ... I was not letting myself be everything that I could be."

So Rogers committed herself to letting go in her final season, and it paid off in more ways than one. Rogers (18-1) earned First Team All-American honors for the first time after landing on the second team the last two seasons. She has posted a career-best 0.75 ERA and only one loss, and her opponents' batting average is a career-low .128.

But she's happy, too. Rogers has a renewed love for the game. She has a clubhouse full of teammates who would do anything for her, and vice versa. And she gets to compete for a national title in Oklahoma City.

“I'm glad that she came back, because she has built a legacy," Lynda said. "That just warms my heart, that she just rode it out and finished strong."

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Ashley Rogers inspired by father in Tennessee softball's run to CWS