The Lady Mocs had two more opportunities this week to practice outside on Monday and Tuesday afternoon. A surprise waited for the team prior to Monday's practice as a new windscreen wrap was installed on the outfield fence. The new wrap showcases the championship tradition of the program and a photo gallery can be viewed via the above link or embedded at the bottom of the page.

Chattanooga host its "Meet the Lady Mocs" event at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday inside the UTC Hitting Facility, located off Third Street in Warner Park. The interactive event provides fans and supporters the chance to get autographs, schedule cards and posters and discuss the upcoming season with players and coaches.

Head Coach Frank Reed further breaks down the pitchers and catchers in the video to the right. He discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each position along with commenting on the team's depth at catcher.

Below is a full schedule of the series with the next installment on Wednesday looking at pitchers and catchers.

Part 1 - Overview and Schedule - Mon. Jan. 30
Part 2 - Pitchers and Catchers - Wed. Feb. 1
Part 3 - Infielders - Fri. Feb. 3
Part 4 - Outfielders and Utility - Mon. Feb. 6

PITCHERS
Coming into the 2012 season, Chattanooga may not have the pitching depth that head coach Frank Reed would like, but the squad does have two more than capable pitchers.

Senior Michelle Fuzzard (Huntington Beach, Calif.) returns for her fifth season with the program, while freshman Taylor Deason (Clarkesville, Tenn.) will also be asked to log a lot of innings in the circle. The third pitcher on the staff, freshman Jenny Garcia (Miami, Fla.) suffered a knee injury during the fall and will sit out this season.

After redshirting her junior season with an ACL injury, Fuzzard came back to the circle for Chattanooga last season posting an 18-6 mark and fanning 89 opposing batters, while logging a team-best 133.2 innings. She started strong coming out in her first game back tossing a complete game against Florida Atlantic.

"She is going to be our elite pitcher this year because of her experience and the awesome job she did down in Tuscaloosa at the regional last year," said Reed. "She went home and returned from winter break in the best shape she has probably ever been in. We will obviously be putting the ball in her hands depending on her providing us a ton of innings."

The Huntington Beach, Calif., native is also the reigning Southern Conference Player of the Year for the offensive numbers that she put up last year for the Lady Mocs. Fuzzard drove in a single-season conference and team record 75 RBI, finishing third nationally. She posted a .400 batting average during the campaign with 15 doubles and 14 home runs.

"Fuzzard has been a versatile player for us transitioning from a first baseman and pitcher to just a pitcher and hitter," said Reed. "She has always been a great hitter and may be one of the greatest in UTC history."

Not only will Fuzzard make an impact in the circle and at the plate, she has also learned the importance of being a leader on and off the field through the experience gained recovering from knee surgery in 2010.

"She has learned to love the newcomers and understands what they are bringing to the program," said Reed. "She is able to feed off their passion a little and the excitement that freshman can bring. I can see her counseling and helping the younger players and that is huge because she has been there and done that. I think her role is going to be far reaching and more than she will ever realize."

The second hurler that will see a lot of action this season is Deason, who has impressed the coaching staff with her mental makeup. She was able to gain some valuable experience this fall throwing in exhibition games that allowed her to gain a understanding of the college game.

"Taylor by the time she leaves here could make her mark on this program as long as she stays healthy because she has all the tools, good size and many pitches, to be a great pitcher," said Reed. "One of the things that I like about Taylor is that she is so mentally tough."

The duo of Fuzzard and Deason are going to have team to together to provide Chattanooga with strong starts and finishes in the circle to keep opponents off the scoreboard over a long 56 game season.

CATCHERS
The catching position might be one of the deepest areas for the Lady Mocs this season as senior Vivian Morimoto (Sao Paulo, Brazil), sophomore Natalie Powers (Glenpool, Okla.) and freshman Nicole Osterman (Kissimmee, Fla.) can all be seen behind the plate. All three are excellent defensive catchers with strong arms.

Coming from Miami-Dade Junior College last year, Morimoto was touted as a solid hitter emerging as a threat in the middle of the Lady Mocs lineup. She posted a team-best .402 batting average for the season registering nine doubles, six home runs and 31 RBI from the five spot.

"Vivian is going to put in the time to be great because she has shown great work ethic," said Reed. "She brings us not only a great catcher that understands the game, but we are also counting on her to put up some big numbers offensively."

Powers may be the strongest defensive catcher for the Lady Mocs because her arm keeps base runners quite. In 33 games played last season, only 10 opposing runners dared to even attempt to swipe a bag and she caught three of them.

"She knows what to do back there and how to do it," said Reed. "She is without a shadow of a doubt one of the best catchers in the country. The offensive part of her game is something that she has really worked one. We are going to ask a lot out of her, but obviously, she brings all the tools."

Coming to the team following the winter break was Osterman, who transferred following her first semester at Miami-Dade. She has four years of eligibility remaining for the Lady Mocs and is a player that can make an impact at multiple positions from catcher to middle infield to outfield.

"Nicole has a great arm that rivals Powers, which will keep opposing base stealers honest," said Reed. "A lot in how we use Nicole is going to be how quickly she develops offensively, but she has a really strong swing that can help us."

Chattanooga does have depth and experience at the catching position that is going to be important in ensuring that the teams gets the most out of its pitching staff.