University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers to Participate in Inaugural St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational
10/22/2018 1:13:00 PM | Softball
ESPN.com contributed to portions of this release
MINNEAPOLIS – ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, announced the addition of Minnesota softball to the field of the inaugural St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational Monday afternoon. Ohio State will be the second Big Ten team to join the 16-team field which includes California, Florida Atlantic University, Florida State, Hofstra, James Madison, Kentucky, LSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. Of the 16 participating teams, 13 finished in the Top 25 of the final RPI report.
Set to take place Feb. 14-17 at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Fla. the Gophers will face off against Tennessee, Notre Dame, California and the reigning national champions Florida State. Both Tennessee and Florida State finished the 2018 season with a Top 10 RPI mark while the Gophers finished ranked 23rd in the final RPI reports.
"This new tournament to start the 2019 Division I Women's Softball season is the result of a shared vision between ESPN, Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater, and the City of Clearwater to promote softball and will build on Clearwater's long history of supporting the sport at all levels," said George Cretekos, Mayor of the City of Clearwater.
The Eddie C. Moore Complex is Clearwater's national and state award winning softball facility and has served as host to the Adidas Softball Invitational, USA Women's National Softball Team and the Michele Smith Softball Camps.
The Gophers finished the regular season 41-17 overall and 17-4 in Big Ten play. Minnesota captured their third-consecutive Big Ten Tournament title earning their sixth-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Network designations will be announced at a later date. To purchase tickets, view all matchups and more click here.
Minnesota Games at St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational
Friday, Feb. 15 – vs. Tennessee
Saturday, Feb. 16 – vs. Notre Dame, vs. Florida State
Sunday, Feb. 17 – vs. California