Sturdivant leads Mocs into Frost Classic

It appears that time off treated Emma Sturdivant well.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior softball first baseman, who missed the fall workouts due to hip surgery in the summer, has been the team’s hottest hitter at the start of the season. She’s hitting .450 for the Mocs, who begin their Frost Classic this afternoon at 1:30 against IUPUI at Frost Stadium.

The Mocs also play Eastern Illinois today, then are scheduled for games against Southeast Missouri State and UT-Martin on Saturday and Evansville on Sunday.

When Sturdivant went back to Orange, Calif., for the holidays, she spent a lot of time working on her swing.

“I just emphasized hitting, hitting, hitting, because hitting is going to get you in the lineup no matter what,” Sturdivant said before Wednesday’s practice. “Hitting will always get you in, so I emphasized that and stuck with that mentality through the fall when I was out and during Christmas break.”

Sturdivant hit her first career triple against Detroit Mercy in the Dot Richardson NCSI two weekends ago, then followed that up with her first career home run against Tennessee State in the Chattanooga Classic last weekend. She’s had at least one hit in six of the team’s nine games.

Aside from a game against Belmont on March 7 in Chattanooga, the Mocs won’t be home again after this weekend until starting Southern Conference play on March 30 against Mercer. Six pitchers, four of them freshmen and five of them newcomers, have spent time in the circle in the first two weekends, but Sturdivant said she feels the team is at a good place heading into this weekend.

“We had a rough go-around last year with a lot of injuries and a lot of really odd circumstances, but we’re slowly getting into it,” she said. “We’ve got a good mix of a lot of freshmen on the field and a lot of returners, and we’re all getting used to each other.

“We’ve got this weekend at home, which is always an advantage because the fans come out. I think since we got the jitters out over the last two weekends, this weekend will be one we’ll show out.”

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @gene henleytfp.