Southwest Softball Team Hosts Mississippi Delta in Season Opener

For more information, contact:
Keith Gentry
901-333-4114
mgentry@southwest.tn.edu

The Southwest softball team will open the 2015 season on February 10 at Buckhead Creek Recreation Complex against Mississippi Delta. Game times for the doubleheader are 2 and 4 p.m.

The Lady Saluqis, under the direction of Head Coach Keith Gentry and first-year Assistant Coach Colby Smith, return seven sophomores from last season. Leading the list of returnees is centerfielder Alex Turner, who was voted first team All-Tennessee Community College Athletic Association (TCCAA) as a freshman after leading the team with a .401 batting average and 15 home runs. Turner, first baseman Dallas Chipman, pitcher/third baseman Tara Comer, and outfielder Marissa Davis were named "Top Returning Players" in District F/Region 7 in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division 1 Softball Preview. Also, back for their sophomore seasons, are outfielder/pitcher Lauren Ray, third baseman/catcher Alissa Rice, and outfielder Casey Tarwater. Ray was a full-time starter in left field as a freshman while Rice was the primary catcher all season. Tarwater was a starter the last few weeks of the season as a designated player (hitter).

Joining them is a talented group of incoming freshmen. Hannah Wright, a pitcher from Dyersburg, Tennessee, was recognized as a "Top Newcomer" in the NJCAA's Division 1 Softball Preview. Wright led her high school team to the Class AA state championship as a senior and played in The Tennessee Softball Coaches Association (TSCA) All-Star game. Also, in this year's Lady Saluqi freshmen class, are catcher Olivia Johnson from Adamsville High School, a TSCA Class A All-State and a first team All-West Tennessee selection in 2014; shortstop Taylor Gilliland from Naples, Florida, who made the Naples Daily News All-Area team as a senior; infielder Elena Maxwell from Collierville High School, who helped lead her team to the Class AAA state tournament the past two years; infielders Kayla Bryant from Martin Westview High School and Anna Johnson from Adamsville High School, both honorable mention All-West Tennessee selections last season; and pitcher Madelynn Smith from Fayette Academy, who made The Commercial Appeal's Best of the Preps All-Metro team as a senior.