Softball Opens 2018 Season At Florida Gulf Coast Kickoff Classic

Friday, February 9

Fort Myers, Fla.

9 AM

University of Memphis

Georgetown

Softball Opens 2018 Season At Florida Gulf Coast Kickoff Classic

Feb 08, 2018 | Softball

Four games are on the slate for Memphis, starting with two Friday against Georgetown and Ball State

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Opening day is finally here for the University of Memphis softball team. The Tigers open up the season Friday at the Florida Gulf Coast Kickoff Classic in Fort Myers, Fla. Memphis will compete in four games over the course of three days with games against Georgetown, Ball State, LIU Brooklyn and NC State.

Memphis' Tournament Schedule
February 9 – Memphis vs. Georgetown at 9:00 a.m. CT (Live Stats)
February 9 – Memphis vs. Ball State at 11:15 a.m. CT (Live Stats)
February 10 – Memphis vs. LIU Brooklyn at 9:00 a.m. CT (Live Stats)
February 11 – Memphis vs. NC State at 8:00 a.m. CT (Live Stats)

Quick Hitters

Memphis returns three all-conference players from the 2017 season. Kyler Trosclair Klatt (First-Team All-AAC), Regan Hadley (Second-Team All-AAC), and Erin Parker (AAC All-Rookie) return as impact players from last year.
Kyler Trosclair Klatt enters the season as Memphis' all-time leader in stolen bases. She currently has 64 swipes.
Returning to the team are pitching aces Molly Smith and Christian Novak, who combined to pitch 285.2 innings last season with over 200 strikeouts.
Joining the Tigers this season are transfers Ashton Stowe, Alexis Castleman, and Ashley Threatt. Castleman and Threatt are eligible immediately while Stowe will have to sit until the 2019 season.
Memphis welcomes six freshmen to its roster in Kendall Lee, Mariah Nichols, Christie Runnels, Baylee Smith, Delaney Smith, and Riley Walker.
Memphis was picked to finish sixth in the American Athletic Conference standings as voted on by the conference's head coaches.
This is the first of three road tournaments in which the Tigers will participate this season.
Head coach Natalie Poole is in her seventh season at the helm of the Tiger program.

About the competition

The Georgetown Hoyas finished 11-37 in 2017, and return their top two hitters in Mallory Belknap and Theresa Kane.
Georgetown will play in six tournaments this season, including one they will host.
Ball State enters 2018 with all four pitchers that saw action last season. Darcie Huber led the team with a 2.26 ERA in 108.1 innings pitched.
The Cardinals return 14 of 17 letterwinners, including First-Team All-MAC infielder Maddy Labrador. Labrador hit .305 last season while collecting 13 doubles and seven home runs.
LIU Brooklyn was picked to finish third in the NEC Preseason Poll after finishing seventh in 2017 with a conference record of 6-10.
Long Island brings back two all-conference players in Victoria Zamora and Gina Bond, both were First-Team All-NEC.
The Wolfpack of NC State begins this season having added eight newcomers while retaining 10 letterwinners.
After finishing 2017 fourth in the ACC with a 10-14 record, NC State was picked to finish tenth in this year's preseason poll.

Final Details
First pitch against Georgetown on Friday morning is set for 9:00 a.m. CT in Fort Myers, Fla. The Tigers will compete twice on Friday, against Georgetown and Ball State, once on Saturday against LIU Brooklyn, and finish up the weekend with a Sunday morning game against NC State.

Live stats for the games will be available at www.gotigersgo.com. Tiger fans can also follow the team's live scoring through the Official Memphis Tigers app by Sidearm, available in both Apple and Android app stores. For more information on the Memphis softball team, follow us on Facebook and Twitter at @MemphisSoftball.