Jesslyn StockardNo one should expect the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team to dominate the Southern Conference this season as it often has, but the coaches and players said Tuesday not to count the Mocs out, either.
The team was introduced to area media representatives and then the public, and the quick observation was who wasn't there. Five of the top six batters and all of the pitchers from last year's injury-plagued 30-29 team are gone.
All three pitchers on this year's roster are freshmen - left-hander Payten Price from Cookeville High School and righties Celie Hudson from Henry County High in Paris, Tenn., and Alex Connell from Siegel in Murfreesboro - but coach Frank Reed said they clearly have ability and made good progress through the fall practice season.
The roster includes seven freshmen in all, including second baseman and outfielder Amy Lewis from Rhea County, and the only seniors are first baseman Jesslyn Stockard from Heritage and utility player Katy Richardson from Girls Preparatory School.
The 2017 season begins Feb. 10-12 in the NTC tournament at Clermont, Fla., and UTC will host tournaments the next two weekends. Then come March events in Orlando, Fla.; Charleston, S.C.; and Clearwater, Fla., so that's a lot of competition in preparation for the conference schedule that begins March 25-26 with three games at Mercer.
"Give us a few games. Let the pitchers get some games under their belt and let the offense see some different pitching," Reed said. "I think we'll be all right."
Hudson's father played football for Auburn and in the NFL, and Price, Reed said, "is as strong as any of the lefties we've had here." He said Connell doesn't have the velocity as the other two but could be an effective change-of-pace option.
"We need all three, and they've shown a great work ethic. They've been pretty good at throwing pitches where we call them, but they still need to develop confidence in what we call - and understand that if something goes wrong, then it's on us, not them."
Sophomore Amanda Beltran is part of that process as the main catcher now, after batting .322 with a .644 slugging percentage last season. She hit particularly well down the stretch of the season.
Stockard comes into her senior season healthy for a change. She had a shoulder condition last year that limited her to 34 games and 75 at-bats, and it was thought she would not be able to throw again. But she can throw after all, so she can "lock down" first base as well as bat, Reed pointed out.
"We have a lot of young people, but they're eager to learn and put in the work to learn how to play the game," Stockard said. "There are many aspects of the game rather than just pitching, just defense or just hitting, and I think we put all the aspects together well."
That includes the mental part of the game and the ability to take other SoCon teams' best efforts with UTC's longtime reputation as the team to beat, she said.
"We're good at every position, I think, and we have a lot of depth," Stockard added. "We have a lot of people who can play different positions."
One of those is fellow senior Richardson, she pointed out. Richardson likely will be a backup catcher as well as an outfielder.
"Anywhere you put her, she can play it," Stockard said.
Other returners who played significant time last year include J.J. Hamill, Alyssa Coppinger, Katie Corum and Ashley Conner, and Halie Williamson is back after being sidelined virtually the entire season.
Contact Ron Bush at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.