Look out, Memphis. A new Tiger team is loose on campus.
The new women’s softball club is playing its way through an inaugural season this fall.
“We have a great group of players who love the sport and are willing to make the team a success,” said coach Cathy Allen, an English professor for The University of Memphis.
More than 20 experienced players practice and play twice a week for the Women’s Fast Pitch Softball Club. Although the fall season is almost over, the spring season begins in February. The team is open to all women, and try-outs are not required.
The softball club scrimmages other colleges and high school teams in the area, like Bolton High School, Rhodes College, and Southwest Technical Community College. So far, the team has played two games, both against Bolton. They were defeated both times.
“Softball is more complicated than people think,” Allen said. “It’s really a game of strategy.”
For instance, there are more types of pitches in softball than in baseball, and a pitch can be thrown at an average of 60-75 miles per hour.
Softball is the fastest growing team sport in America, according to Allen. She expects support and interest in the club to reflect that enthusiasm.
“We’ve already gotten a lot of phone calls from women interested in the softball club,” said John Duncan, head of the intramural sports department.
Team captain Priscilla Stultz said many women selected schools outside of Memphis because they wanted to attend a regional school offering softball for women.
“I really think that having the team here in Memphis will boost enrollment because now those women can come here,” she said.
Outfielder Anna Walkner said she agrees. “People who haven’t had the chance to play in college in their hometown now have that chance.”
The athletic department announced plans to hire a coach for the prospective varsity team in the 2002-2003 school year, according to U of M Associate Athletic Director Lynn Parkes.
“The coach will have the opportunity to recruit players and order equipment to enable the team to compete in intercollegiate competitions in the 2003-2004 school year,” Parkes said.
Stultz is proud to be a founding member of the team.
“I won’t be able to play when the team becomes official,” she said, “but my sister, who is a high school freshman, now will be able to play softball for the University of Memphis, thanks to what this team is doing.”
