North Carolina State University Athletics
No. 24 Softball Heads to Gainesville for Tournament
2/15/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
RALEIGH, N.C. - The NC State softball team will travel to Gainesville, Fla., Friday, Feb. 16 - Sunday, Feb. 18, to compete at the Cox Communications Classic. The three-day affair, hosted by the Florida Gators, includes five teams: Chattanooga, No. 19/20 Florida, Fordham, Marshall and No. 24 NC State. The Pack will begin play against Marshall on Friday at 9 a.m., later taking on Fordham at 11:15 a.m. On Saturday, the red and white will play host Florida at 1:30 p.m., before battling Chattanooga at 6:15 p.m. NC State will wrap up its stay at the tournament on Sunday, with its game times being determined based upon its success in the previously scheduled games.
Live stats will be available for all of the Pack's games at the tournament on GoPack.com. A live audio broadcast of the team's contest against Florida on Saturday will be available via the Gators official athletics website, GatorZone.com.
Ranked No. 19 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 and No. 20 in the USA Today/NFCA coaches poll, the SEC’s Florida Gators enter the weekend with a 6-1 record, owning an impressive win over Arizona and a close loss to Wisconsin. The Pack is 1-4 all-time against SEC squads.
Fordham, a member of the Atlantic 10, will begin its season when they take on NC State on Friday morning. The Rams beat the Pack, 1-3, last Feb. 26. The Marshall Thundering Herd, out of Conference USA, will start the weekend at 2-3 on the young season. Chattanooga was scheduled to open its season this past Tuesday with a home series against UAB, but that was postponed due to weather. The Lady Mocs, out of the SoCon, will now begin their year in Gainesville.
NC State will be getting acquainted with three of its four opponents this weekend, having never played Marshall, host Florida or Chattanooga. The red and white lost to Fordham in its only previous meeting.
The Pack is certainly no stranger to playing games in Florida, holding a 12-14 all-time record in the Sunshine State. In 2004, the program’s inaugural year, the red and white went 2-7 in games played in Florida, following with a 2-3 performance in 2005. Last season NC State offered a solid showing, going 8-4.
Stay glued to GoPack.com for all of the latest news and updates on Wolfpack softball.
