Sean Barows, Tennessee Softball Contact Assistant Director of Media Relations Tennessee Athletics 1551 Lake Loudon Blvd., Knoxville, Tenn., 37916 O: (865) 974-7478 | C: (561) 312-9432 | E: sbarows@utk.edu Offical Athletics Website: UTSports.com
7 WCWS APPEARANCES » 2 SEC TOURNAMENT TITLES » 31 NFCA ALL-AMERICANS » 52 ALL-SEC SELECTIONS » 4 SEC PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
KAJIKAWA CLASSIC » FEBRUARY 11-13 » TEMPE, ARIZ.
WEEK
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE Thursday, March 5
1
Tennessee (H) vs. Creighton (TSC Field 2) BYU (H) vs. Tennessee (TSC Field 2)
Friday, March 6
TENNESSEE IN THE RANKINGS
Tennessee (H) vs. Fresno State (Farrington Stadium) Arizona State (H) vs. Tennessee (Farrington Stadium)
USA TODAY/NFCA: NO. 8 ESPN/USA SOFTBALL: NO. 9
Saturday, March 7
San Jose State (H) vs. Tennessee (TSC Field 2) Tennessee (H) vs. Northwestern (TSC Field 2)
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION Date:
Thu, Feb. 11 - Sat, Feb. 13
Site:
4 p.m. ET 6:30 p.m. ET 7 p.m. ET 9:30 p.m. ET 3 p.m. ET 4:30 p.m. ET
All games to feature live stats via UTSports.com Times subject to change TSC - Temple Sports Complex
Tempe, Ariz.
Venue: Tempe Sports Complex/ Farrington Stadium Live Stats: UTSports.com Opp. Rank: Creighton (NR/NR) BYU (NR/NR) Fresno State (RV/RV) Arizona State (22/20) San Jose State (NR/NR) Northwestern (RV/RV)
UT STAT LEADERS (RETURNING FROM 2015)
QUICK HITTERS WEEK 1 NOTES
BATTING AVG
#8 Shaliyah Geathers
.320 BA (56-for-175) 12 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR 35 RBIs, 31 Runs .383 OB% .480 SLG%
HOME RUNS
#14 Megan Geer 14 HRs .306 BA (57-for-186) 10 2B, 51 RBIs 54 Runs, .403 OB% .586 SLG%
WINS
#42 Rainey Gaffin 17-4, 2.17 ERA 121 Ks, 125.2 IP 40 APP, 12 Starts 5 CGs, 3 Saves .232 Opp BA
TENNESSEE TEAM STATS (2015) ¢ Team Batting Average: .......... .302 (500-for-1654) ¢ Team Runs Per Game: ..............................................6.4 ¢ Team Slugging Percentage: .............................. .554 ¢ Team On-Base Percentage: ................................ .413 ¢ Team Fielding Percentage: ................................ .962 ¢ Team ERA: .................................................................2.97 ¢ Team Innings Pitched: ...........................................412.1 ¢ Team Runs Per Game Allowed: ............................. 3.2 ¢ Team Strikeouts Per Game: ....................................5.9 ¢ Team Opposing Batting Average: ................... .227
SERIES HISTORY CREIGHTON All-Time Series: 0-0 First Meeting BYU All-Time Series: 5-1 Last Meeting: 2/27/14 (L, 3-6) FRESNO STATE All-Time Series: 2-1 Last Meeting: 2/23/14 (W, 5-4)
SOCIAL
ARIZONA STATE All-Time Series: 2-1 Last Meeting: 2/11/12 (W, 3-0) SAN JOSE STATE All-Time Series: 3-1 Last Meeting: 2/7/09 (W, 16-0 in 5) NORTHWESTERN All-Time Series: 4-6 Last Meeting: 2/22/13 (L, 2-3) Twitter, Instagram
@Vol_Softball
¢ For the sixth time in program history, Tennessee is ranked in the Top 10 of both national preseason polls (2006, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016). The Vols rank No. 8 in the NFCA Preseason Poll and No. 9 in the USA Softball Preseason Poll. ¢ UT is coming off its seventh WCWS appearance in the last 11 seasons, all under co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly. ¢ Four of the Vols’ six opponents this week advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season. (BYU, Fresno State, Arizona State, Northwestern) ¢ Tennessee returns nine players from last year’s team, including NFCA All-American Rainey Gaffin and SEC All-Freshmen team selections Meghan Gregg & Scarlet McSwain. ¢ UT’s 10-member freshmen class was rated No. 2 in the nation by Full Count Softball and included five players on the Hot 100 list. (Vines, Leach, Rowland, Lockman, Bush) ¢ The Vols were picked to finish fifth in the SEC Preseason Poll. All four teams picked ahead of them also made the WCWS last season. (Florida, LSU, Auburn, Alabama) ¢ UT will play one of its toughest schedules to date with 29 games against teams that advanced to last year’s NCAA Regionals, including seven against opponents that reached the Women’s College World Series. They will also play 15 teams that finished in the top 50 of last year’s final RPI. ¢ Tennessee returns its three top pitchers from a year ago and added three freshmen pitchers to the rotation. ¢ Tennessee brings back 68 percent of its run production from last season. ¢ The Vols return players who accounted for 64 of their program-record 100 home runs last season. ¢ Three current Vols were named to the U.S. Women’s Elite Team this summer. (Gaffin, Gregg, Vines) ¢ Tennessee co-head coaches Ralph & Karen Weekly enter their 15th year at the helm of Tennessee Softball. They boast a 711-217-2 (.766) record at UT and have led the program to 12 straight NCAA Tournament appearances. ¢ UT co-head coach Karen Weekly enters this season with a career record of 934-314-2, just 16 wins shy of 950 for her career. Facebook Page
Facebook.com/TennesseeSoftball
2016 » SCHEDULE & RECORD OVERALL: 0-0 HOME: 0-0 NEUTRAL: 0-0
SEC: 0-0 AWAY: 0-0 STREAK: --
THE SCHEDULE Date Feb. 11 Feb. 11 Feb. 12 Feb. 12 Feb. 13 Feb. 13 Feb. 19 Feb. 19 Feb. 20 Feb. 20 Feb. 21 Feb. 25 Feb. 26 Feb. 27 Feb. 27 Feb. 28 March 4 March 4 March 5 March 5 March 6 March 8 March 11 March 12 March 13 March 16 March 18 March 19 March 20 March 22 March 25 March 26 March 27 March 29 April 1 April 2 April 3 April 5 April 8 April 9 April 10 April 16 April 17 April 18 April 20 April 23 April 23 April 24 April 27 April 30 May 1 May 2 May 6 May 7 May 8
Opponent (TV/Network) Time/Result 1-Creighton 4 p.m. 1-BYU 6:30 p.m. 1-Fresno State 7 p.m. 1-at Arizona State (Pac-12 Network) 9:30 p.m. 1-San Jose State 2 p.m. 1-Northwestern 4:30 p.m. 2-James Madison 11 a.m. 2-Oklahoma State 1:15 p.m. 2-Fordham 12:15 p.m. 2-USF 5 p.m. 2-DePaul 11:15 a.m. DAYTON (SECN+) 3 p.m. 3-Marshall 2 p.m. 3-Arizona 10 a.m. 3-Marshall 5 p.m. 3-at Alabama (SECN+) 2 p.m. 4-UAB (SECN+) 3 p.m. 4-GREEN BAY (SECN+) 5:30 p.m. 4-ST. JOHN’S 12:30 p.m. 4-TBD TBD 4-3rd PLACE/CHAMP (SECN+) 1:30p.m. Belmont 7 p.m. ARKANSAS* 6 p.m. ARKANSAS* (SECN) 3:30 p.m. ARKANSAS* 1:30 p.m. at North Florida 6 p.m. at Florida* (ESPNU) 7 p.m. at Florida* (SECN) 12 p.m. at Florida* (SECN) 4 p.m. JACKSONVILLE 5 p.m. MISSiSSIPPI ST.* (SECN+) 6 p.m. MISSISSIPPI ST.* (SECN+) 2 p.m. MISSISSIPPI ST.* (SECN+) 2 p.m. at Lipscomb 6 p.m. at Missouri* (TBD) 7:30 p.m. at Missouri* (TBD) 3 p.m. at Missouri* (TBD) 1 p.m. KENNESAW STATE 6 p.m. TEXAS A&M* (SECN+) 6 p.m. TEXAS A&M* (ESPNU) 12 p.m. TEXAS A&M* (SECN+) 1:30 p.m. at Georgia* (ESPN2) 1 p.m. at Georgia* (SECN) 7 p.m. at Georgia* (SECN) 7 p.m. FURMAN 6 p.m. 5-OKLAHOMA (ESPN) 4:30 p.m. 5-LOUISIANA-MONROE 7 p.m. 5-LIPSCOMB 2:30 p.m. TENNESSEE TECH 6 p.m. AUBURN* (ESPN2) 8 p.m. AUBURN* (ESPNU) 7 p.m. AUBURN* (SECN) 7 p.m. at Ole Miss* (SECN+) 7 p.m. at Ole Miss* (SECN) 1 p.m. at Ole Miss* (SECN Bases Loaded) 2 p.m.
May 11-14 May 20-22 May 26-29 June 2-8
SEC Tournament (Starkville, Miss.) NCAA Regionals (Campus Sites) NCAA Super Regionals (Campus Sites) WCWS (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
KEY 1-Kajikawa Classic 2-Michele Smith Pediatric Cancer Invitational 3-Easton Bama Bash 4-Tennessee Invitational 5-Tennessee Classic Home Games in BOLD All games listed in EST
2016 TENNESSEE SOFTBALL | UTSPORTS.COM | @VOL_SOFTBALL
1