University of Minnesota Athletics
Softball to Begin '09 Season in Tampa
2/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
For the third consecutive year, the University of Minnesota softball program will get its season underway with a trip to the Sunshine State. After beginning the 2007 and 2008 campaigns in Jacksonville, the Gophers will begin the first chapter of their 2009 story on the opposite coast at the Louisville Slugger Tournament hosted by the University of South Florida in Tampa.
Following a 2008 season where the team’s 29-16 (.644) record marked its best winning percentage since 2002, Minnesota will be looking to take its first strides toward a successful 2009 campaign with a solid showing in Tampa.
Breaking Down the Tournament Field
Minnesota's season-opening trip to the campus of the University of South Florida will include a mixture of some familiar foes and fresh faces. While the Gophers have compiled a 15-7 all-time record against tournament foes South Florida (3-2), Illinois State (4-5) and UNC-Greensboro (8-0), the Gophers will face North Florida and Florida Gulf Coast for the first time in program history.
The host USF Bulls, regular season champions of the BIG EAST during 2008, are receiving votes in the preseason USA Today/NFCA poll. Senior Cristi Ecks is the Bulls’ leading returning pitcher while 2008 All-BIG EAST honorees Britta Giddens and JoJa Medina anchor USF at the plate. The Gophers will try to improve on their 3-2 advantage in the all-time series when they face the tournament hosts on Saturday afternoon.
Illinois State rode a 17-7 league record to a second place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference last year. The Redbirds are led by junior infielder Kara Nelson, who hit .401 during her sophomore season last year. Senior Amber Smith was ISU’s best pitcher last season, going 14-9-2 with 108 strikeouts and a 2.10 ERA in 157 innings a year ago. When the Gophers meet the Redbirds on Feb. 7, Minnesota will be looking to square the all-time series at 5-5.
This weekend’s tournament is also the first competition of the season for UNC-Greensboro. The Spartans, who were tabbed fifth in the Southern Conference preseason coaches’ poll, are led by senior pitcher Hannah Angel. Angel is a first-team All-SoCon preseason pick who went 12-14 with a 2.46 ERA for a UNC-Greensboro team that posted a 23-33 record in 2008. The Gophers are 8-0 all-time agains the Spartans.
Minnesota will kick off its 2009 campaign against Atlantic Sun Conference foes FGCU and UNF on Feb. 6. Florida Gulf Coast is picked second in the A-10 preseason coaches’ poll while the Ospreys of UNF are pegged sixth. FGSU’s third baseman Cheyenne Jenks was tabbed by the league’s coaches for preseason Player of the Year honors. Fellow FGSU infielder Jessica Perez was also named to the league’s first team preseason all-conference list along with UNF’s senior catcher Ashley Battaglia and pitcher Devyn Findley.
