After a February when they spent seemingly as much time on the West Coast as they did in Knoxville and an opening to SEC play featuring two consecutive series against top five teams, the Lady Vols softball team is ready for Spring Break.
“I’m really excited because right now it’s been constant. School, softball, school then softball,” Lauren Gibson, the SEC’s Co-Player of the Week, said. “So it’ll be nice to get a little rest time.”
Add the fact that UT (23-6, 3-3 SEC) dropped two of three games – all in extra innings – to No. 3 Florida in Gainesville over the weekend, and that a third consecutive weekend series against a top opponent, No. 5 Texas A&M, is looming, and it’s certainly an understandable sentiment.
But sandwiched in the midst of the mayhem for the Lady Vols is a mid-week date with Murray State.
The Racers are in Knoxville to play a 6 p.m. non-conference game tonight at Lee Stadium, and UT co-head coach Ralph Weekly acknowledged that getting motivated for a game lacking the luster of the recent nationally relevant contests won’t be easy.
“That’s the worry that every coach has,” Weekly said. “Because we’ve played number one and number three in the country the last two weeks and we’ve got number five coming in, so I’m hoping it’s not (difficult to prepare for Murray State).”
UT’s Ohio Valley Conference foe is 0-2 against SEC competition on the year with losses to Arkansas and Mississippi State.
“Going into each and every game, it’s the same thing,” Gibson said. “You have to be prepared for each and every team. I think as a team we just want to go out and get some wins, so we have to be up for each and every game.”
That’s Not So Raven
Lady Vols leadoff hitter Raven Chavanne had an unusually tough weekend against the Gators in Gainesville, going 2 of 13 at the plate over the weekend.
Weekly highlighted the importance of getting the three-time All-American back on track.”Her numbers haven’t been the same early on as they usually are, but I think she’ll be fine down the line,” he said.
Chavanne plays third base for the Lady Vols and boasts a career batting average of .439. She holds the school record for stolen bases with 124.
“With (Chavanne) getting on, it always helps the team with producing runs and everything because she makes things happen,” Gibson said. “That’s why she’s such a good leadoff hitter.”
UT actually outhit Florida 24-21, but Weekly emphasized that increased offensive production – whether from Chavanne or different sources – is crucial to success in the SEC and that the Murray State matchup will provide an outlet to potentially generate offensive confidence.
“In our league, we’re always looking to produce more offense and score more runs,” Weekly said.
Return of a Legend
Former Lady Vol softball pitcher Monica Abbott will return to Lee Stadium on Saturday before UT’s 6:30 p.m. game against Texas A&M as the Lady Vols honor the left handed legend by retiring her jersey.
In her four-year career Abbott amassed a record of 189-34 with 2,440 strikeouts while leading UT to the College World Series in three consecutive seasons (2005-07).
“Right now she holds about every pitching record in the history of the game,” Weekly said. “So that’ll be nice to have her back and be honored.”
Abbott registered 23 career no-hitters and six perfect games while donning the orange and white.
“It’ll be great to be a part of that,” Gibson said. “She made a legacy and it’ll just be great to see her jersey get retired, something she definitely deserves.”
Saturday’s game will be televised by ESPNU.
