Softball Central: Tennessee at Kajikawa Classic

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – It has been 256 days since the Lady Vols last took the field of play and Tennessee have waited long enough. The 2018 UT softball season will start on Thursday with doubleheader action against Boise State and No. 23/19 Arizona State in the 2018 Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Arizona.

Tennessee will also play Western Michigan, San Jose State, UC Davis and No. 15/T16 Utah over the three days. The Lady Vols are coming off their 14^th straight NCAA Tournament appearance and they are ranked No. 11/12 in the preseason national polls to start the season.

Tournament Schedule
All six of Tennessee's games this week can be heard live on UTSports.com by visiting the schedule page and clicking the "Listen" link for each game. Brian Rice will have the call for the audio broadcast. FloSoftball will have a live video stream for those fans who would like to watch any games of the week by clicking HERE.

The Lady Vols' game against Arizona State and Utah will be aired live on the Pac-12 Network. Anne Marie Anderson and Amanda Freed will be calling the Arizona State game and Ann Schatz and Barb Jordan will broadcast the Utah game.

View UT's full tournament schedule below. All times listed are EST.

Thursday, Feb. 8
Tennessee (H) vs. Boise State | 5 p.m. | Listen | Watch
Tennessee (V) at Arizona State | 9:30 p.m. | Listen | Watch

Friday, Feb. 9
Tennessee (H) vs. Western Michigan | 1:45 p.m.  | Listen | Watch
Tennessee (V) vs. San Jose State | 4:15 p.m.  | Listen | Watch

Saturday, Feb. 10
Tennessee (V) vs. UC Davis | 1:45 p.m. | Listen | Watch
Tennessee (H) vs. Utah | 4 p.m. | Listen | Watch

Need to Know
Tennessee is coming off its 14^th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and returns 17 letterwinners from last season, including seven position starters. UT also brings back five players who earned SEC postseason honors last season with Meghan Gregg, Matty Moss, Brooke Vines, Caylan Arnold and Chelsea Seggern. Gregg was named SEC Player of the Year while Arnold was named SEC Freshman of the Year.

Preseason Rankings and Honors
Tennessee begins the season ranked No. 12 in the NFCA Preseason Coaches' Poll and No. 11 in the USA Softball Preseason Top 25. The Lady Vols have been ranked to start the year in both polls for 15 consecutive seasons.

Senior shortstop Meghan Gregg has earned substantial preseason recognition this year. The defending conference player of the year was named to both the Preseason All-SEC team and the Preseason All-American team. She was also included on the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 "Watch List" for the second year in a row.

Success in Season Openers
The Big Orange are 13-3 in season openers under co-head coaches Ralph Weekly and Karen Weekly. UT also boasts strong performances in opening-week tournaments recently, going 27-3 in such games over the past five years.

History Against the Field
The Lady Vols are a combined 14-6 all-time against their four opponents in the Kajikawa Classic.

Scouting Report

Boise State Broncos
Boise State finished 33-20 (12-12 MWC) in 2017 and was picked to finish sixth in the Mountain West Softball Blog Preseason Poll. The Broncos signed eight prep players to National Letters of Intent during the offseason, while 2018 preseason All-American Rebekah Cervantes returns for her junior year.

UT's All-Time Record vs. Boise State: 1-0
The Lady Vols and the Broncos have not met since Feb. 18, 2011 when UT defeated Boise State in five innings, 15-1.

Arizona State
ASU is coming off a 31-22 (9-15 Pac-12) season and returns eight starters and significant reserves from 2017. The Sun Devils are ranked 19^th in USA Softball Collegiate Poll and 23^rd in the NFCA Preseason Poll.

UT's All-Time Record Vs. Arizona State: 2-2
The two programs last met on Feb. 12, 2016 during the 2016 Kajikawa Classic. ASU came away with a 5-4 victory in eight innings in front of the home crowd at Farrington Stadium.

Western Michigan
The Broncos wrapped up 2017 with a record of 25-29 (11-13 MAC). In the process, they set the single-season program record for runs scored (241) and doubles (75). Western Michigan returns its top nine hitters from last season, including senior third baseman Kelsea Cichocki, who became the first player in program history to reach 100 RBIs.

UT's All-Time Record vs. Western Michigan: 1-0
Tennessee earned a 9-6 win in the first and only meeting between the two programs on Feb. 12, 2012.

San Jose State
The Spartans are picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West Conference after finishing 37-19 (16-8 MWC) in 2017. Coming off of the program's first conference championship, coach Peter Turner welcomes his largest recruiting class into the 2018 season, with nine prep players signing NLIs.

UT's All-Time Record vs. San Jose State: 4-1
The Lady Vols defeated the Spartans 9-2 on Feb. 13, 2016 at the 2016 Kajikawa Classic.

UC Davis
The Aggies finished 22-32 (7-14 Big West) a year ago and were picked to finish eighth in the Big West Preseason Poll. UC Davis returns 13 letterwinners and three of its four pitchers from 2017, including Big West All-Freshman team selection Katie Kirby.

UT's All-Time Record vs. UC Davis: 3-0
Tennessee last met UC Davis on Feb. 8, 2008, when the Lady Vols took down the Aggies, 3-0.

Utah
After finishing 2017 with a 37-16 (13-9 Pac-12) record, the Utes come into this season ranked 15^th in the NFCA Preseason Poll and 16^th in the USA Softball Collegiate Poll. Sophomore outfielder Alyssa Barerra was selected to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 "Watch List."

UT's All-Time Record vs. Utah: 3-3
The two programs face off again after meeting on Feb. 24, 2017 at last year's Mary Nutter Classic in Cathedral City, Calif. The Utes came away with a 3-0 victory.

What's Next?
Tennessee travels back down south next week for the Michele Smith Tournament in Clearwater, Fla. The Lady Vols will play five games in the tournament, taking on Oklahoma State, UMass, Florida Atlantic, USF and Marshall.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Caylan Arnold

Meghan Gregg

Matty Moss

Chelsea Seggern

Brooke Vines

University of Tennessee Athletics