Softball Begins Spring Practice Tuesday

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The 2017 season is right around the corner and the University of Memphis softball team began practice Tuesday. The Tigers open up the season on February 10 at the Florida International Tournament.

To kick off the 2017 spring season, the Tigers will jump right in with a practice that includes offense, defense, base running, vision training, and team strategy.

"As a coaching staff, we worked our way back from the first game when determining what we need to accomplish each day," said head coach Natalie Poole. "Each day we will be working to cover important parts of the game, that will get us closer and closer to being ready for the first game. We are anxious to get started with our student-athletes, so it will be an exciting day."

Offensively, the Tigers will work to see as much live arm as possible to help hitters be comfortable in the box, get strike zone awareness, and get their timing down.

The Tigers have three home tournaments this season in The Blue's City Classic (March 3-5), the UofM Softball Tournament (March 10-12), and the Tiger Classic (March 17-18) as well as 27 home contests. Throughout the year, Memphis will compete against five schools in Power Five conferences in Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss. In all, five non-conference opponents (Florida Atlantic, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, and Fordham) qualified for the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

Memphis has four seniors on the roster this season in Lindsay Crowdus, Hannah Harrell, Calli Irvin, and Lindsey Stickrod. Crowdus and Stickrod were two of the top four hitters from last year's team. Harrell led the Tigers in on base percentage and also set the all-time record for stolen bases in a season with 27. Harrell is also just eight stolen bases shy of the all-time Memphis career record.

For more information on the Memphis softball team, follow the team on Twitter (@MemphisSoftball) and Facebook (@MemphisSoftball).

University of Memphis Athletics

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