Softball Heads to the Desert for Bout with National Champs

2/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | By: GoMocs.com

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- For the first time in program history the Chattanooga softball team (4-2) will square off the NCAA's National Champion from the previous season. On Thursday, Feb. 12 the Lady Mocs will play No. 3 Arizona State (5-1) in Tempe, Ariz., at 8 p.m. ET.

Then on Friday, the team will begin play in the Littlewood Classic. The field is comprised of Arizona State, Kent State, Illinois State, Idaho State and Iowa.

The Lady Mocs enter the weekend coming off a very productive weekend, going 4-2. Two of the Lady Mocs victories came against No. 20 Virginia Tech as UTC beat the Hokies 8-0 and 5-4. The other two wins for Chattanooga came against Campbell and Maine. In the Lady Mocs 7-5 win over the Fighting Camels, Tiffany Baker hit a walk-off three run homer to give UTC the win.

As a team, UTC is hitting .282 and has scored 26 runs. Tiffany Baker, Michelle Fuzzard and Lyndsey Stiles have provided a majority of the fireworks for the Lady Mocs, hitting .474, .471, and .381 respectively. Baker and Fuzzard have combined for 11 runs batted in, while Stiles has hit safely in all six games and is a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen bases. In the circle, UTC has been led by Kandice Irwin. In three starts the sophomore is 2-1 with a 1.40 ERA. In 20 innings pitched Irwin also struck out 15 batters.

Scouting the Sun Devils
The Arizona State Sun Devils enter the weekend at 5-1 with its lone loss coming to UTEP in the championships of the Kajikawa Classic. In the tournament ASU notched victories against Central Florida, Penn State, Portland State and Cal State Bakersfield. The Sun Devils began the season with a 5-4 win over McNeese State in eight innings.

This season the defending national champions are hitting .304 and are led by All-America Kaitlin Cochran. This season the senior has already hit three home runs and has eight RBI.

Scouting the Golden Flashes
Kent State comes to the desert with a 4-1 record after winning the Stetson Leadoff Classic. The Golden Flashes clinched the championship with a 1-0 win over Stetson in nine innings.

Pitcher Kylie Reynolds has been a major factor in the early success for KSU. In 26 innings she is yet to allow a run, while only giving up four hits. Reynolds is currently averaging 12.7 strikeouts per seven innings.

Scouting the Redbirds
Illinois State begins the Littlewood Classic with a 2-3 record after spending the weekend in Tampa, Fla., at the USF Louisville Slugger Classic. In their two wins, the Redbirds defeated North Florida 2-1 and Southern Conference foe UNC Greensboro, 13-2.

ISU is currently led by Nikki Stansell with a .412 batting average, while as a team, the Redbirds are hitting .209.

Scouting the Bengals
Idaho State flies into Tempe, Ariz., looking for the season's first win as the Bengals went 0-5 last weekend at the Brigham Young Red Devil Classic.

Megan Miller leads ISU with a .333 batting average. Miller also has one home run and three RBI as the Bengals have belted four round-trippers so far

Scouting the Hawkeyes
The Iowa Hawkeyes enjoyed a 3-2 weekend in its opening slate of games for the season. The team was able to defeat Stephen F. Austin twice, while splitting two games with Texas. The Hawkeyes other loss came in a 6-0 decision against Florida State.

Pitcher Brittany Weil was a bright spot for Iowa on the weekend, compiling a 3-1 record with a near spotless 0.67 ERA.

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