Lady Mocs Softball Opens Season At National Collegiate Invitational

  • Thursday, February 9, 2012
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga begins its 19th softball season on Friday with a doubleheader against Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M beginning at 11 a.m in Clermont, Fla., at Dot Richardson's National Collegiate Invitational. Chattanooga plays two more times on Saturday starting at 11 a.m. against North Carolina before a 5 p.m. meeting against UCF. The Lady Mocs complete the opening weekend on Sunday with a noon matchup against Florida Atlantic.

The first Lady Mocs home contest is during the annual Frost Classic on Feb.
24 with a doubleheader against Valparaiso and Niagara. The 12-team field also includes Ball St., Belmont, Cleveland St., Dayton, East Tennessee State, Purdue, Tennessee Tech, Troy and UT Martin.

A Look at the Opponents:

Lady Mocs vs. Bethune-Cookman: 0-0
Series History: First Meeting
Scouting Report: The Wildcats (33-24, 12-0) captured their second-straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) title in 2011 advancing to the Gainesville Regional. They were led by senior Allison Garcia, who posted a 26-11 record and 3.54 ERA. She additionally was the key to the offense recording a .374 batting average with nine home runs and 56 RBI. They are replacing three senior starters, while welcoming seven starters. Head Coach Chris Cochran is in her sixth season guiding Bethune-Cookman.

Lady Mocs vs. Florida A&M: 2-0
Series History: This is the third meeting between the programs and first in more than 10 years. Chattanooga took a 7-3 decision in Tallahassee, Fla., on Feb. 11, 2001. The Lady Mocs also notched a 4-1 victory on March 6, 1998 in Tampa, Fla.
Scouting Report: The Rattlers finished the 2011 season at 26-26 overall and 8-4 in the MEAC. They were led by Tera Gainer and Francesca Singletary, who each posted averages at .364. Gainer provided the power iwth nine home runs, while Singletary paced the team with 11 doubles. A total of six players (adding Jasmin Donaldson, Tenisha Dixon, Brttany Doty and Whitney Robinson) compiled averages above .300. The duo of Jenn Lindsey and Whitney Robinson combined to record 25 wins with each tossing over 150 innings and Lindsey fanning a team-high 103. Seven freshman are added to the roster, while Head Coach Veronica Wiggins is looking to replace one departing senior, Erika Garcia.

Lady Mocs vs. North Carolina: 1-4
Series History: The past four meetings in the series have gone to North Carolina as they swept a doubleheader at Frost Stadium, 2-0 and 7-5, in 2003 returning a visit by the Lady Mocs in 2002, where it won, 4-2 and 9-7, in Chapel Hill. Chattanooga did notch a 2-0 victory in the series during the 1994 season, the program's first season, in the Scenic City.
Scouting Report: The Tarheels finished the 2011 campaign with a 34-31 mark and 15-8 ACC record, while playing in the ACC Championship game for the first time since 2002 falling to Florida State. North Carolina hit .376 as a team including four players (Kali Wheeler, Haleigh Dickey, Ally Blake and Logan Foulks) over .300. Wheeler and Dickey provided the power with 11 and 12 home runs, respectively. In the circle, Lori Spingola returns, who went 27-16 a year ago with a 1.73 ERA in 267.1 innings and struckout 285. Head coach Donna Papa has tallied over 1,000 victories in 27 season at UNC.

Lady Mocs vs. UCF: 1-0
Series History: The teams meet two years ago at the same event as the Lady Mocs opened the season 3-2 after a 4-2 victory over the Knights. Kaiti Kelly went 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Tiffany Baker blasted a home run. After falling behind 2-0 in the first, the Lady Mocs plated one run in the third and fourth and two more in the fifth as Nikki Waters earned the win and Brooke Loudermilk notched the save.
Scouting Report: UCF looks to replace five starters and nine seniors from last season's squad that went 22-32 overall and 11-13 in C-USA. Natalie Land, who posted a .346 batting average, 54 hits and 25 stolen bases, is the top returner. The Knights lost two starting pitchers in Diana Rojas and Lacey Dinney, who combined for 22 victories and 280 innings pitched. Head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie is in her 10th season at UCF and adds 13 newcomers to the roster, including seven junior college players.

Lady Mocs vs. FAU: 8-5
Series History: Last year, the teams split a pair of games to open the season in Clermont, Fla., 2-1 and 1-3. A two-RBI double for Poteat helped the Lady Mocs win the first game, while Michelle Fuzzard's first pitching performance since knee surgery was impacted by Rose Gressley's three-run homer in the sixth. The teams met again in Clermont to begin the 2010 season with the Lady Mocs earning a 2-1 win. FAU took two of three meetings in 2003 by scores of 4-2 and 7-5, while UTC won 9-2. Chattanooga posted 3-0 and 6-1 victories in the 2002 NCAA Tallahassee Regional to go deep into the tournament. The Owls recorded wins in consecutive years starting in 2000, 4-2 and 2-1. The Lady Mocs won 8-3 in 1997 and 2000.
Scouting Report: FAU went 34-35 overall and 15-9 in the Sun Belt finishing second during the 2011 season. The Owls are looking to replace six starters that graduated with an influx of 20 freshman. The top returner is Heather Barnes, who paced the squad batting .318 along with eight doubles and 24 RBI. In the circle, FAU looks to replace Rose Gressley's 20-13 marks and 1.99 ERA in 215.0 innings pitched. Taylor Fawbush returns after a 14-11 year and 3.02 ERA iwth 101 strikeouts in 167.0 innings. Head Coach Joan Joyce is in her 17th season leading the Owls.

All-Time in Season Openers

- Chattanooga is 9-9 all-time in season openers after notching a 2-1 victory against Florida Atlantic last year in Clermont, Fla.
- It is the third time the Lady Mocs open in Clermont, Fla., 1-1 overall with lone defeat being 1-0 to No. 10 Oklahoma.
- Chattanooga is also 5-4 on the opening weekend in Clermont , Fla., over the past two season.
- This will be the 10th time the team begins the year in the Sunshine State.

Lady Mocs Picked Preseason Favorite
- Chattanooga is favored to win its 14th Southern Conference Regular Season title voted upon by the coaches.
- The Lady Mocs received all eight possible first-place votes totaling 64 points followed by College of Charleston (50), Georgia Southern (1-48) and Appalachian State (44).
- Senior designated player Vivian Morimoto and junior second baseman Sara Poteat were selected to the first team.
- Second team honorees were senior Michelle Fuzzard at pitcher and utility and junior first baseman Kasey Tydingco.
- Fuzzard is the reigning SoCon Player of the Year, while Poteat captured the 2011 SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
- Top individual honors went Marie Fogle (OF) and Allie Miles (P) of Georgia Southern.

Replacing Six Starters
- Chattanooga lost six student-athletes due to graduation in Tiffany Baker, Lauren Flores, Della Harrison, Kandice Irwin, Lyndsey Stiles and Nikki Waters.
- All six played significant roles in the Lady Mocs advancing to the finals of the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional a year ago.
- Baker set the career home run record at Chattanooga and the conference with 50, while breaking the schools single-season mark with 18 last year.
- Irwin led the NCAA in saves the past two seasons and finished T-3rd on the NCAA all-time saves list with 21.
- Waters was important in the circle down the stretch leading Chattanooga to victories in the SoCon tournament and regionals.
- Stiles was a dynamic lead-off hitter and base stealer for the Mocs setting the table for the middle of the lineup.

Looking at the Returning Starters

- Fuzzard, Tydingco, Traxler Poteat and Morimoto started for the Lady Mocs and made significant contributions throughout the year.
- These four hit second (Poteat), third (Fuzzard), fifth (Morimoto), sixth (Tydingo) and seventh (Traxler) last season.
- All five are consistent and hit over .300 led by Morimoto at .402 and Fuzzard at .400.
- Poteat is a threat on the base paths and could leadoff or bat second in the Lady Mocs lineup.

Fuzzard's Fifth Season

- The Huntington Beach, Calif., graduated in August 2011 with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and is working towards a masters in the same field.
- She has helped the Lady Mocs capture four SoCon regular season and three SoCon Tournament titles, while going to the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional three times.
-Fuzzard received a medical redshirt after playing in just 15 games during the 2010 season.
- During her rehab, she had an opportunity to learn the game from the coaching perspective by charting pitches.
- She compiled an 18-6 mark and 3.04 ERA last year in her first full season back striking out 89 in 133.2 innings pitched.
- Fuzzard set the SoCon and school record with 75 RBI during the campaign, while hitttng .400 and slugging .726.
- Tallied 15 doubles and 14 home runs.
- Three-time All-SoCon First Team (2008-09, 11) and second team (2009)
- Selected as 2011 SoCon Player of the Year and 2008 SoCon Freshman of the year.

Looking at the Newcomers
- Head Coach Frank Reed brought in five freshmen in pitcher Taylor Deason, pitcher Jenny Garcia, infielder Sarah Beth Roberts and outfielder Cheyenne Willis along with junior infielder Ninjja Suetsugu from Miami-Dade to start the year.
- Freshmen outfielder Haylee Blalock and utility Nicole Osterman were brought in at the break with Osterman being a first-semester transfer from Miami-Dade.
- Garcia is out for the year after suffering an ACL tear during the Blue-Gold game during the fall
- Roberts and Suetsugu are battling for the starting job a third base, while Willis is looking for a position in the outfield.
- Deason and Fuzzard will anchor the pitching staff.
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