An NCAA softball team with an interesting Henry County connection is off to a strong start in the 2019 season after a solid performance in a tournament last weekend in Florida.

  The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga won three out of five games in Clearwater last week, with Sunday’s 11-6 victory improving the team’s record to 21-7 upon completion of the non-conference schedule. The squad travels to Greenville, S.C., this weekend to face Furman in the opening series of Southern Conference play.

  The Mocs’ leadoff hitter Sunday was freshman shortstop Emily Coltharp, who doubled in that game and now has a six-game hitting streak while also scoring in the past six consecutive games. It has been a quick transition since graduating last spring from Union Grove High School, starting with a brief fall season for the softball team.

  “We had one week to settle in and it was go time after that,” she said about her opening weeks at school last August.

  Having played travel ball across the country in recent years, she is accustomed to stiff competition. But playing with elite college players now is compounded by the adjustments to living away from home and the college academic workload. Regardless of the whirlwind schedule, she loves her school choice.

  “It’s a little bit of everything,” she said. ”The distance is great – not too far, not too close. I love the school, the coaches, the atmosphere and everything about it. I love Chattanooga. It was a really good pick for me.”

  Her first week on campus, she learned that a fellow Union Grove alum would also be on the team, albeit in a very different role.

  Megan Betsa was named one of the team’s assistant coaches last August after a year in the same role at the University of New Mexico. Both programs are similar, characterized by Betsa as “mid-major.” She left New Mexico simply because she wanted to get back to this part of the country.

  “I actually planned to move back no matter what. I was just missing family. I was away at college four years,” she said. “The opportunity [in Chattanooga] came after I moved back.”

  Graduating in 2013 after leading Union Grove to a state championship her senior year, she played four years at the University of Michigan where she was a three-time NFCA Second Team All-American and two-time Big Ten Pitcher of the Year selection. She was selected seventh overall in the 2017 National Pro Fastpitch draft by the Akron Racers, later earning Rookie of the Week honors after tossing a complete game with nine strikeouts in her pro debut.

  But coaching wasn’t on her radar while she was still a star on the field.

  “I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. It kind of fell in my lap,” she said. “I was playing pro and got the job offer my first year. I realized that I wanted to stay in the game as long as I could.”

  She is happy with her latest move and likes what she is seeing on the field.

  “I think we’re just playing really good softball right now,” she said. “We’re starting to come together, and that’s important to do right before you get into conference play.”

  Both Betsa and Coltharp noted that the huge tournament field in Clearwater included several players and coaches they have seen over the years through their extensive summer travel seasons. They have formed a kind of fraternity, meeting up at one tournament after another, and that continues today.

  “It’s a cool thing,” said Betsa. “Softball is such a big sport and you meet so many people along the way. It’s nice to come to these tournaments far away and see familiar faces.”   Follow the UT-Chattanooga squad on Twitter (@GoMocsSB) for the most up-to-date information throughout the 2019 spring season.