Tuesday night’s game at Jim Frost Stadium didn’t start out so great for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team, but sometimes how you finish is more important than how you start.
UTC freshman Cori Jennings’ first pitch of the game was hit out of the park in right center by Tennessee Tech center fielder Angi Sakamoto, but the pitching and defense held firm and the Mocs rallied for a 6-4 nonconference win in front of 412 fans on a beautiful spring evening at Warner Park.
“You can’t teach fight, and this team’s got it,” UTC coach Frank Reed said after the game. “I told them that I was really proud of them. We give up a first-pitch home run … and we could have given up right there.
UTC shortstop J.J. Hamill tags out Tennessee Tech runner Angi Sakamoto at 2nd during the Mocs’ non-conference softball game against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles on Tuesday, March 31, 2015, at Jim Frost Stadium in Chattanooga, Tenn.Reed nears 1,000 wins
After Tuesday’s 6-4 win over Tennessee Tech, UTC coach Frank Reed has 998 wins for his career. He could reach the 1,000-win milestone in just over a week during the Mocs’ three-game SoCon series at Furman. As the big win nears, Reed said Tuesday that he’s humbled but just trying to take things one game at a time and not look ahead or think too much about his impressive legacy at UTC and Chattanooga State. “I just try to put it out of my mind because I’m just sort of excited about the season and how the team’s doing,” he said. “It’s an honor to get there. I’ve had a lot of people that have helped. We just played against one of our former great players (Tennessee Tech assistant coach) Tiffany Baker (Wilkerson) tonight that helped us get there. “A lot of memories rush back, and I’m not sure how I’m going to handle that. I’m just honored to be around the game that long and give something back to it, because it’s certainly given me a lot.” — Jim Tanner