University of Connecticut Athletics
Softball Escapes Snow, Opens Season on Friday
2/9/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball
2017 Schedule/Live Stats Links | @UConnSoftball on Twitter
STORRS, Conn. - Blizzard conditions in the northeast have never made Florida look better, as the UConn softball team travels to Fort Myers for the FGCU Softball Tournament and the start of the 2017 regular season on Friday.
The Huskies will play five games in three days against LIU Brooklyn and Florida Gulf Coast to kick-off the season, fighting the snowstorm to reach a tropical location.
Friday will be a doubleheader for UConn, with first pitch of the season-opener against LIU Brooklyn at 2 p.m. The second game against FGCU will begin at approximately 7 p.m. All games this weekend can be followed on live stats or @UConnSoftball on Twitter.
Eight freshmen join the Husky roster, rounding-out an 18-player team under third-year head coach Jen McIntyre. Last year, UConn opened up play in the LSU Tiger Classic and won two of its first five contests.
Sophomore Ally Hernandez returns as the team's leading hitter from a year ago, posting a .333 batting average in 35 games. Senior Taylor Townsend returns as the leading run producer, recording 15 RBI as a junior.
All three pitchers - Jill Stockley, Kayla Doty and Chelsea Eckert - from 2016 are back with the Huskies, and are joined by freshmen Carli Cutler and Katie Koshes to complete a well-balanced pitching staff. Stockley threw a team-high 142.2 innings as a freshman.
UConn, which finished 19-33 (4-12 American) in 2016, is 9-0 all-time against LIU Brooklyn and 0-3 against FGCU.
QUICK HITS ON OPPONENTS
- LIU Brooklyn went 30-27 (14-2 NEC) and is the defending Northeast Conference champion. The Blackbirds qualified for the NCAA Regionals, where they were swept by No. 10 LSU and Arizona State.
- Victoria Zamora returns to the team as the leading hitter, posting a .342 average in 2016.
- LIU returns its entire pitching staff from last season, which posted a team ERA of 3.58 and a 213-77 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
- FGCU was 32-27 (13-5 Atlantic Sun) and lost to USC Upstate in the 2016 championship final.
- Kelsey Huff and Racquel Fournet both hit over .350 last season. They combined for eight home runs and 65 RBI.
- Riley Randolph, FGCU's pitching ace, returns to the team after a 16-5 record and team-best 1.39 ERA as a freshman.
Tournament Schedule
Friday, Feb. 10: UConn vs. LIU Brooklyn - 2 p.m.
UConn vs. FGCU - 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 11: UConn vs. FGCU - 3 p.m.
UConn vs. LIU Brooklyn - 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 12: UConn vs. LIU Brooklyn - 11:00 a.m.
