The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Memphis softball teams have never faced each other before, but Friday’s meeting in the opening game of the Tuscaloosa Regional of the NCAA tournament will still have a decidedly familiar feel.
The Memphis starting lineup features three players from the Chattanooga area who played high school and summer softball against and with some current Lady Mocs.
Senior third baseman Maddie McKinley played at Gordon Lee, and former GPS standouts Jessica Phillips and Kamri Chester start at first base and in center field, respectively.
Phillips said Tuesday that for the Tigers to be matched up with UTC makes a special experience even better for her, McKinley and Chester.
“We were super excited to find out that we were in regionals, but for me, Kamri and Maddie to be playing our hometown school just makes it even better,” she said. “There’s so many girls on that team that we know, and we’ve always been competitive whether we’ve been playing with each other or against each other.”