Mocs Softball Set to Host Powerhouse Oklahoma This Season

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Rick Nyman
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(gomocs.com) CHATTANOOGA — The Chattanooga Mocs softball team will welcome four-time WCWS National Champion Oklahoma to Jim Frost Stadium in 2021 for a three-game series, highlighting a 22-game home schedule, the program announced Monday evening.

The Mocs and the Sooners will open the three-game set on Friday, April 30, with a doubleheader slated to start at 4 p.m. The series wraps up on Sunday, May 1, with a single game at 1 p.m.

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The matchup could mark the highest-ranked opponent to visit Jim Frost Stadium since No. 11 Notre Dame in 2011. The Sooners were ranked No. 6 in both the USAToday/NFCA Coaches and ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 polls at the conclusion of the shortened 2020 season. OU captured the WCWS national championship in 2017, 2016, 2013 and 2000.

SEC-member Auburn returns to Frost Stadium for the second time in the last four seasons, last playing the Mocs in 2018 as the No. 15 team in the country. The doubleheader in 2018 was the last time an SEC program has visited Frost to face UTC.

NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Chattanooga opens the season February 12 at the Trojan Classic, hosted by Troy, against UAB. The Mocs will face the tournament hosts and Ole Miss on Saturday, before closing out the weekend with UAB and Ole Miss on Sunday.

UTC kicks off its home schedule with its annual Chattanooga Challenge and Frost Classic tournaments, held February 19-21 and 27-28, respectively, at Jim Frost Stadium. Participating teams include WKU, Tennessee Tech, Indiana State, Kennesaw State and Evansville.

The Mocs wrap up preseason tournament play March 5-7 in Clarksville, Tenn., at the Black & Red Challenge hosted by Austin Peay. Along with the hosts, opponents include Butler and Indiana State.

Chattanooga hosts EKU in the Scenic City on March 11 for a single game before heading south on I-75 to face Georgia State in a doubleheader on March 13. The Mocs then travel to Cookeville to take on Tennessee Tech for a single game on March 24 before entering conference play on the weekend.

UTC heads back to Clarksville for a single game at Austin Peay on April 14 before hosting two national powers in the friendly confines of its home stadium.

Chattanooga will host SEC-member Auburn in a single game on April 21 at 6 p.m. before welcoming four-time national champion Oklahoma April 30-May 1 for a three-game series.

SOCON REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
UTC hosts Western Carolina to open Southern Conference action March 27-28. The three-game set kicks off with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and a single 2 p.m. contest on Sunday.

Chattanooga travels to in-state rival ETSU for a three-game series the weekend of April 2-3 before continuing SoCon play on the road at Mercer the following weekend, April 10-11.

The Mocs welcome UNCG to Frost Stadium in conference action the weekend of April 17-18 ahead of a road trip to Greenville, S.C., to face Furman April 24-25. UTC wraps up SoCon play at Samford May 8-9.

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Rick Nyman
Rick Nyman grew up in Anniston, Alabama and attended the University of Alabama. His television career started at WJSU-TV in Anniston where he had the opportunity to cover SEC football with Alabama and Auburn. Anniston is just 20 minutes from the Talladega Speedway, so NASCAR was a big part of his sports coverage. Due to this he was able to interview Davey Allison, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, and several other top-name NASCAR drivers. Rick's next television job was in Savannah, Georgia, where he covered basketball player Kwame Brown (now with the Washington Wizards), who later became the first ever high school player selected as the top pick in the NBA draft. He covered the PGA Tour's annual swing thru Hilton Head and also had the opportunity of covering the Atlanta Falcons Super Bowl appearance in 1999 in Miami. Rick especially enjoys all the atmosphere, tradition and drama of college football. He also likes profiling sports personalities and learning what drives them both on and off the field. If he's not covering sports, he's either watching Seinfield or David Letterman, playing golf, reading, or working out. What he enjoys about Chattanooga is the passion people have for sports. The mountainous region of Chattanooga reminds him of his hometown of Anniston, which also has big, beautiful trees and plenty of hills. You can contact Rick at rnyman@wdef.com.