Softball Central: Tennessee At Mary Nutter Classic

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee softball team continues its travel-packed start to the 2018 season with a trip to Cathedral City, Calif., this weekend for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.

The Lady Vols will take on six teams in three days, highlighted by a Saturday afternoon matchup with No. 5/2 Oregon. Tennessee's other opponents include BYU, Bethune-Cookman, UC Davis, Oregon State and Northwestern. All games will be played at the Big League Dreams Complex, a multi-sport venue that holds five softball fields.

UT comes into the weekend ranked No. 11 in both the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25. The Lady Vols are 10-1 this season after sweeping the Kajikawa Classic and going 4-1 at the Michele Smith Invitational.

Tournament Schedule

All five of Tennessee's games this week can be followed on UTSports.com via live streaming by visiting the schedule page and clicking the "Live Stats" link for each game.

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

Thursday, Feb. 22
Tennessee (V) vs. BYU | 1 p.m.
Tennessee (V) vs. Bethune-Cookman | 3:30 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 23
Tennessee (H) vs. UC Davis | 3 p.m.
Tennessee (V) vs. Oregon State | 6 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 24
Tennessee (H) vs. Oregon | 12 p.m.
Tennessee (H) vs. Northwestern | 2:30 p.m.

Need to Know
Tennessee's matchup with No. 5/2 Oregon on Saturday will be its fourth game against a team ranked in the top-20 this season. The Lady Vols are 3-0 in the previous three, with wins over then No. 19 Arizona State, No. 15 Utah and No. 15 Oklahoma State.

History at the Mary Nutter Classic
This will be UT's 11th all-time appearance at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. While it was previously known by other names such as the Palm Springs Classic, Cathedral City Kickoff, and Cathedral City Classic, the Lady Vols have accrued a 41-10 record at the tournament and went undefeated six times.

Strikeout Season
Tennessee has recorded 69 strikeouts in 2018 and leads the SEC in strikeouts looking with 21. Sophomore Caylan Arnold has put up 41 K's and 10 walks in the young season.

Morgan Earning Her Stripes
Freshman Ashley Morgan has gotten it done on both sides of the ball this season for the Lady Vols. The Douglasville, Ga. native hit her first home run in a win over UC Davis on Feb. 10, and has recorded seven hits in the team's first 11 games. She also leads the way for UT with 71 of the team's 228 putouts.

Scouting Report

BYU
The Cougars bring a 4-6 record into the Mary Nutter Classic after going 3-2 at the Marucci Desert Classic last week. BYU kicked off its season with a 10-1 win over Stanford in six innings.

All-Time Record vs. BYU: 6-1
The Lady Vols and Cougars last met on Feb. 11, 2016, when UT came away with a 15-3 victory in five innings.

Bethune-Cookman
After starting the season 2-5, the Wildcats are on a three-game winning streak with victories over Stetson, Quinnipiac and Northern Iowa at the Disney Diamond 9 Citrus Blossom Invite.

All-Time Record vs. Bethune-Cookman: 0-1
Tennessee dropped the only meeting in the two programs' history, a 3-2 loss back on Feb. 9, 2002.

UC Davis
The Aggies are 7-4 coming into the Mary Nutter Classic, and hope to ride a wave of momentum after going 4-1 at the Bulldog Classic in Fresno, Calif.

All-Time Record vs. UC Davis: 4-0
Friday's game will be the second matchup of the season between the Lady Vols and the Aggies. Tennessee defeated UC Davis 6-0 at the Kajikawa Classic on Feb. 10.

Oregon State
The Beavers bring a 7-4 record to Cathedral City, including two wins over ranked opponents. They defeated then No. 21 Oklahoma State 8-2 in the season-opener on Feb. 9, and beat then No. 22 BYU 14-9 on Feb. 10.

All-Time Record vs. Oregon State: 6-4
The Lady Vols defeated the Beavers in their last matchup on Feb. 19, 2017 by a score of 14-0 (five innings).

Oregon
The fifth-ranked Ducks boast a 9-1 mark entering the Mary Nutter Classic, including a 6-0 sweep of the Kajikawa Classic two weeks ago. Senior DJ Sanders leads the high powered offense with six home runs, while fellow senior Jenna Lilley leads with a .567 batting average and 16 RBI's.

Northwestern
The Wildcats are 5-4 on the season so far, including a win over NC State in the B1G/ACC Challenge. Northwestern went 4-1 at the season-opening Kajikawa Classic.

All-Time Record vs. Northwestern: 5-6
Tennessee won 8-2 in its last meeting with Northwestern on Feb. 13, 2016.

What's Next?
The Lady Vols will return to Knoxville for their long-awaited home opener on March 2, as they welcome Charleston Southern, Toledo, and South Alabama to the friendly confines of Sherri Parker Lee Stadium for the Tennessee Invitational.