A year ago, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team began a new season coming off one of the worst in program history, with struggles on and off the field.
Friday the Mocs will begin a new season on more familiar ground. They won the 2014 Southern Conference tournament title and were picked by coaches to repeat as champions.
UTC will open the season in Auburn, Ala., at the Plainsman Invitational with games Friday against George Washington and Evansville. Saturday the Mocs will play Appalachian State and UAB before wrapping up the tournament Sunday against 18th-ranked Auburn.
The biggest change for UTC in 2015 is the departure of associate head coach Amy Herrington-Woodard, who resigned to devote more time to her family following the birth of her second child.
“It’s always different when you change people around,” coach Frank Reed said last week at the team’s media day. “The way I put it is that we’re doing the same thing I did 14 years ago, but we may be doing it a different way.
“The skills that we’re trying to focus on … don’t change. You just may approach things a little differently.”
Reed is joined by assistant Michelle (Fuzzard) LaCourse and volunteer assistants Scottie Kilgore and former GPS and East Tennessee State standout Jackie Baird.
The Mocs placed six players on the All-SoCon preseason teams, with pitcher Katie Henderson, the league’s most outstanding player last year, third baseman Sarah Beth Roberts and outfielder Nicole Osterman named to the first team. Senior pitcher Taylor Deason, Anyssa Robles and outfielder Sam Taylor were second-team selections.
“I feel like our team’s awesome,” Deason said. “I’d definitely compare it talent-wise to my freshman year. We’re stacked in all positions, so if one goes down I feel like we have someone to back them up.
“We have a lot of talent, and there’s nothing that should hold us back from winning it all.”
One thing holding the Mocs back now is a collection of injuries — to Henderson, sophomore first baseman Jesslyn Stockard, freshman catcher Taylor Parker and freshman infielder Ashley Connor. Conner is out for the season, while the timetable for the others’ returns remains unclear.
“Going into this thing with 20 kids, I really felt good,” Reed said. “But we have four kids with some injuries, and I’m a little bit concerned about that.”
On the pitching front, Deason and Henderson were expected to be joined in the rotation by freshmen Kailey Palazollo and Cori Jennings, but Henderson’s injury and Jennings playing with soreness in her arm means most of the pitching will fall on Deason and Palazollo.
Deason, who had an outstanding freshman season in 2012, bounced back from a rough sophomore season to finish with a 14-7 record and a 1.49 earned run average in 2014. She’ll need to continue to pitch well as a senior to make UTC leads hold up.
“She had this same pressure on her as a freshman when it was just her and Michelle (Fuzzard),” Reed said. “If you could tell me right now that she’ll have the same kind of year that she had as a freshman, I’d feel a whole lot better right now.
“With any pitcher, it’s a lot about the mental part of the game. She’s made some really good strides with some extra pitches, so we’ll see.”
Jennings, a left-hander from Brush Creek, Tenn., plans to pitch through the pain as much as she can, and she’s excited to see what she can do against college batters.
“It’s been good,” she said. “I like having the experience of coming here and playing at the next level after working so hard to get here.
“(The challenge) inspires me more than it intimidates me. I’m really excited to see what I can do for this program.”
For the other seniors, the excitement of a new season is tempered somewhat by the knowledge that this will be their last go-round in college softball.
“It’s here so I’ll make the best out of it, but it’s sad,” Deason said. “It went by fast … but when I look back at it year by year, it’s been an awesome process.
“I’ve made tons of memories, and I’m looking forward to making some more this year.”
Contact Jim Tanner at jtanner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6478. Follow him at twitter.com/JFTanner.