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• Hosfield earns national award; Spigner honored in California
• Lady Vols finish No. 14 in fastpitch coaches' poll
• Spigner could be next big thing

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Mike Candrea and Ralph Weekly take the field Saturday as the last two of eight original Olympic softball coaches from the inaugural U.S. team in 1993 who are still coaching.

Last year, Candrea and Weekly met in the finals of the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, with Candrea's Wildcats taking two of three from the Lady Vols for the championship.

Saturday, before a sold-out crowd at $7 million Lee Softball Stadium, they'll meet in a 3 p.m. exhibition game featuring Candrea's U.S. National Team against Weekly's 11th-ranked Lady Vols.

Weekly was the hitting coach on the U.S. teams that won the gold in Atlanta in 1996 and again in 2000 in Sydney, Australia. As coach and National Teams director for USA Softball, Weekly appeared in 13 international tournaments, winning the gold medal every time with a 130-15 record.

Candrea coached the U.S. softball team to the gold in 2004 in Athens, Greece, and is expected to coach the team to another gold medal this summer in China.

"There are three things I'm most proud of during my tenure as national teams director,'' Weekly said. "One is building the training center in Chula Vista, Calif., the second is writing the first Olympic high-performance plan, and the third was pursuing and being part of hiring Mike Candrea.''

Weekly said he's been looking forward to Saturday's meeting since it was scheduled.

"It's really not a match up between Mike and I, but it's something that will be a lot of fun for our fans,'' said Weekly, who along with his wife, Karen, serves as the Lady Vols co-head coach.

"It's a chance for our young team to play against the top 15 players in the world.''

Those top 15 players include former All-American Monica Abbott, who finished her Lady Vols career last season as the most dominant pitcher in NCAA history.

"We're obviously very proud of everything Monica has accomplished,'' Weekly said. "But I don't know how much fun it's going to be to try to hit against her.''

Notebook: The U.S. National Team will practice at 4 today at Lee Stadium, and fans are welcome to attend free of charge. ... The gates will open Saturday at 12:30. Batting practice will begin at approximately 1. ... Team USA will hold a post-game autograph session for 45 minutes that will be open to all fans. ... If you can't make it to the game and want to see it on television, ESPN will show it May 14 at 7 p.m.

Rhodes A Finalist: UT senior pitcher Megan Rhodes, who will start Saturday's game, is among the 10 finalists for the 2008 Lowe's Senior Class Award for softball. The award goes to the Division I player that excels on as well as off the field of play.

Callahan Honored: Senior third baseman Tonya Callahan was named as one of the final 25 candidates for USA Softball National Player of the Year. It's the fifth straight year UT has had a player in the final 25 for the prestigious honor.

Callahan leads the SEC in slugging percentage, on-base percentage and is tied for first with 12 home runs.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.