Softball team prepares for title defense in annual Blue and Gold opening game
Jennifer Adkins
Issue date: 10/16/08 Section: Sports
The Lady Moc's softball team concluded their fall workouts Saturday with the eighth annual Blue and Gold game at Jim Frost Stadium.The Gold team edged out the Blue team, 3-2, and outhit them by an 8-6 margin.
The team also got their first glimpse of a pitching staff that will be without the services of last year's ace, junior Brooke Loudermilk, Locust Grove, Ga.
Loudermilk went 18-8 last year and was named the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year for the second straight year, but she underwent shoulder surgery two weeks ago. According to gomocs.com, the pitcher will be forced to miss the entire 2009 season.
Stepping up to fill the void, sophomore Kandice Irwin, Knoxville, started the game and pitched well. She gave up one run on five hits while pitching two innings to each team.
The Gold team struck first with an RBI double from senior Laci Upchurch, Madison, Tenn., in the second inning. Sophomore Katie Blevins, Soddy Daisy, added on to the lead in the third with an RBI single that scored sophomore Kristin Holloway, Chickamagua, Ga.
The Blue team would fight back, however, with two runs in the top of the fifth. One of three hits for senior Toni Hutchison, Madison, Tenn., was a single that drove in former player Nicole D'Apice to get the Blue team on the board. Sophomore Lauren Flores, Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., then scored on a wild pitch from Kaitlin Holloway, a sophomore from Chickamagua, Ga., to tie the score.
The Gold team wasted no time getting their lead back in the bottom half of the inning Blevins homered to left field for the eventual winning run. She was 2-2 on the day with two RBIs and two runs for the winning team. Hutchison went 3-3, and Flores had to hits to pace the Blue team.
The team will begin their Southern Conference title defense Feb. 6 when they open up the season against Maine at home.
The team also got their first glimpse of a pitching staff that will be without the services of last year's ace, junior Brooke Loudermilk, Locust Grove, Ga.
Loudermilk went 18-8 last year and was named the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year for the second straight year, but she underwent shoulder surgery two weeks ago. According to gomocs.com, the pitcher will be forced to miss the entire 2009 season.
Stepping up to fill the void, sophomore Kandice Irwin, Knoxville, started the game and pitched well. She gave up one run on five hits while pitching two innings to each team.
The Gold team struck first with an RBI double from senior Laci Upchurch, Madison, Tenn., in the second inning. Sophomore Katie Blevins, Soddy Daisy, added on to the lead in the third with an RBI single that scored sophomore Kristin Holloway, Chickamagua, Ga.
The Blue team would fight back, however, with two runs in the top of the fifth. One of three hits for senior Toni Hutchison, Madison, Tenn., was a single that drove in former player Nicole D'Apice to get the Blue team on the board. Sophomore Lauren Flores, Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., then scored on a wild pitch from Kaitlin Holloway, a sophomore from Chickamagua, Ga., to tie the score.
The Gold team wasted no time getting their lead back in the bottom half of the inning Blevins homered to left field for the eventual winning run. She was 2-2 on the day with two RBIs and two runs for the winning team. Hutchison went 3-3, and Flores had to hits to pace the Blue team.
The team will begin their Southern Conference title defense Feb. 6 when they open up the season against Maine at home.
