Mocs Softball Excited to Host 15th Ranked Auburn at Sold Out Frost Stadium

Chattanooga-(WDEF-TV) The Mocs softball team will close the regular season by hosting 15th ranked Auburn in a double-header on Sunday starting at two o’clock. The Tigers are the highest ranked team to visit UTC, since the Mocs entertained 11th ranked Notre Dame in 2001.

Mocs coach Frank Reed admits it took some negotiating to get an SEC school like Auburn to play in Chattanooga.
Said Reed:”Lot of conferences have off weeks, and the end of the season was our off week, and it so happened that it was Auburn’s off week. So they invited us to come down. Offered me a little bit of money, which they thought was a lot, but was really only a little. So I threw out a figure that they said they couldn’t pay, which I know they could. And so I said we won’t play then. Well they called me back in a couple of days and said why don’t we just come to you.”
Frost Stadium will be sold-out for Sunday’s double-header as nearly 2,000 fans will be on hand.
Said Mocs first baseman Emma Sturdivant:”I’ve been thinking about that. We had a pretty good crowd for ETSU this past weekend for senior weekend. It was interesting seeing even more fans behind the plate there, so it will definitely be a different feel being able to see every one in the crowd, but I think it will be fun.”
Said Mocs pitcher Allison Swinford:”But I think our team can thrive under something like that. All of us live for playing under the lights. I mean it may be daytime, but all of the crowd is going to be here, so we’re just going to be so ready to play.”
Said Reed:”Parking is going to be at a premium. We are shuttling people from Engel Stadium. I’d get here early and get a seat and maybe get to see a little warm-up or a little BP or whatever.”
Playing 15th ranked Auburn should be a good tune-up before UTC heads to the SoCon tournament next week.
Said Swinford:”This is the time we need to be playing up and playing people hard and just really get into a groove going into SoCon and just hopefully win that ring at the end.”
Said Reed:”Feeling a little bit more pressure. Pressure to win. Pressure to do good in front of your home crowd. I think that is a positive environment, and I’m hoping we play off of that and do something well in Greensboro.”