After a rough trip to Florida last weekend, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team hopes to get back on track today against Furman in the opening weekend of Southern Conference play.
UTC and the Paladins are scheduled to play a doubleheader today starting at 1 p.m. followed by a single game Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Lady Mocs (12-7) lost four of five games last weekend at the USF Under Armour Invitational in Clearwater, Fla., and they suffered a blow when junior first baseman and pitcher Michelle Fuzzard injured her knee against Massachusetts. Fuzzard will miss at least four weeks with the injury to her ACL.
In addition, senior pitcher Brooke Loudermilk was called for multiple illegal pitches throughout the weekend, which may have contributed to UTC’s record in the tournament.
“That was a tough weekend,” UTC coach Frank Reed said. “We weren’t the only team who had issues with the umpires (over illegal pitch calls). We were very frustrated, and then losing Michelle on top of that, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth.”
The Lady Mocs still have had one of the best starts in program history and look to continue their dominance in SoCon play. UTC has won the past three regular-season conference titles and two consecutive SoCon tournament championships.
A new UTC home run record could be set this weekend, with senior Laci Upchurch tied for the career lead with 25 and junior Tiffany Baker one behind her. Baker has six this season.
Loudermilk has struck out 101 batters so far this season and needs 36 more to pass former Lady Moc Beth Alexander for the career strikeout record.
Furman has struggled to avoid weather issues and enters the weekend with a season record of 2-3. Reed said the lack of games played by the Paladins is a disadvantage to both teams.
“It’s tough to scout a team that hasn’t played many games,” he said. “Fortunately, they have lots of players returning from last season, so we’re not unfamiliar with them. But Furman always plays well in conference play, and I’m sure their players will be excited to play against us.”