University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore Kasey Tydingco got the 2010 Blue-Gold softball game started with a bang Saturday morning.
Tydingco, who had no home runs last season, crushed Nikki Waters’ first pitch over the right-field wall to start the Gold team toward a 11-2 win in the annual scrimmage at Jim Frost Stadium.
“It felt great. I’ve hit home runs before but never in collegiate ball,” said Tydingco, who went 3-for-4 with four RBIs. “I knew it was coming inside, and I guess I got a lot of it.”
Tydinco’s blast was followed by another homer from No. 2 hitter Lauren Flores as the Gold team pounded out 14 hits to three for the Blue.
UTC’s three active pitchers – seniors Waters and Kandice Irwin and freshman Caroline Curran – wore white jerseys and pitched to both teams.
UTC senior Tiffany Baker, who is recovering from foot surgery this summer, had a solid 2-for-4 day for the Gold team. She said this game was an important test as she gets ready for her final season.
“This is my first game out since my last [medical] procedure,” Baker said. “So this is the game that I wanted to give everything I have for the fans and for my parents.”
Baker said facing off against her teammates was fun, but it was important to keep things in perspective.
“It was really fun. Sometimes it gets a little too competitive, but we try to keep it reasonable,” she said. “But you can forget that the other team is your teammates.
“You want your pitchers to do good, but you want your hitters to do good. So it’s a double-edged sword in that way.”
Before the game, returning players were presented rings to commemorate their 2010 Southern Conference regular-season championship.
UTC head coach Frank Reed said it’s tough for him to watch and assess when his players take on each other.
“It’s a Catch-22 every year. I’m always glad when this day’s over,” he said. “You want your pitching to dominate but not so much that you don’t feel like your hitters are doing well.”
Reed said he has been pleased with how the Lady Mocs have performed in fall workout, and he thinks the team, which has seven new players, is beginning to develop unity.
“They’re really a close team. The upperclassmen have really accepted these younger kids,” Reed said. “That’s the thing you look for early. That’s the thing gives you stability, because you’ve got to build on something.”
UTC will wrap up its fall schedule Friday with a trip to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for exhibition games against Central Alabama and Southeastern Conference and national power Alabama.