The Chattanooga Lady Mocs softball program released its schedule on Tuesday, as announced by Head Coach Frank Reed. In 2009, the Lady Mocs will play 56 games, with six coming against teams that competed in the NCAA Tournament in 2008. The Lady Mocs will play Campbell, Virginia Tech, Kent State, Arizona State, Iowa, and Princeton, all of which played postseason softball last season. Of those six, Virginia Tech and Arizona State advanced to the Women’s College World Series, with ASU winning the 2008 National Championship.
“Anytime you have an opportunity to play a team of that caliber, it is something you want to do,” Reed said. “We feel that playing teams like this will only make us better, and hopefully we will go out there and play well.”
The 2009 season will begin on Feb. 6, as UTC plays on the Black Bears of Maine at 3 p.m. Other teams participating in the tournament will be Campbell, Virginia Tech, Troy, and Tennessee Tech.
Following the opening weekend’s tournament, the Lady Mocs will head to the desert for a single game with Arizona State on Feb. 12, followed by the Littlewood Classic in Tempe, Ariz. on Feb. 13-15. While there, Chattanooga will square off against Kent State, Arizona State, Idaho State, Illinois State, and Iowa.
After its trip to the West, the team will travel to the campus of the University of South Carolina for a three-day tournament on Feb. 20-22. While in Columbia, S.C., the Lady Mocs will play Troy, Eastern Illinois, North Florida, and the host-school, South Carolina.
The Lady Mocs will then head back to Chattanooga for the annual Frost Classic. In a change from previous seasons, this year’s Classic will feature 16 teams, and will run from Feb. 27-Mar. 1. The tournament will feature a pool play round, followed by bracket play. In pool play, UTC will face Dayton, Princeton, and Indiana. Also participating in the tournament will be: Boston College, East Tennessee State, Lipscomb, Missouri State, Morehead State, Radford, Rhode Island, Sacred Heart, Tennessee-Martin, Tennessee Tech, Toledo, and Valparaiso.
Following the Frost Classic, Southern Conference play will begin with a three-game series against Furman on Mar. 7-8 at Frost Stadium. During conference play, UTC will host Samford, Appalachian State, and Georgia Southern, and will travel to UNC Greensboro, Elon, Western Carolina, and College of Charleston.
During its conference schedule, the Lady Mocs will play have non-conference bouts with Belmont, Jacksonville State, Tennessee State, Lipscomb, UAB, and Kentucky.
Chattanooga will wrap up the regular season in Charleston, S.C., against College of Charleston before the 2009 Southern Conference Tournament, which will be held at Frost Stadium in Chattanooga on May 6-9.