North Carolina State University Athletics
Softball Opens 2011 Season in Florida
2/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 9, 2011
RALEIGH, N.C. -
Head coach Lisa Navas and the NC State softball program will begin its eighth season this weekend, taking part in the USF Wilson-DeMarini Tournament in Clearwater Fla., Feb. 11-13. The Wolfpack will compete in five games, battling Florida Gulf Coast University, Long Island, No. 5 Florida, Marshall and host, the University of South Florida.
On Feb. 11, NC State will begin play with FGCU at 4 p.m., followed by Long Island at 8 p.m. The tournament continues on Feb. 12 as the Pack takes on Florida at 3 p.m. and USF at 5 p.m. On the final day of competition in Clearwater, the Wolfpack will battle Marshall at 9 a.m.
Overall, NC State owns a 5-4 record all-time versus the tournament field, having never faced FGCU. The Pack boasts a 3-0 mark over Long Island and a 2-0 record against Florida, but trails USF (1-3) and Marshall (0-1) in the series meetings.
The Wolfpack returns 13 letterwinners from the 2010 season, and welcomes seven newcomers to the roster in 2011. Among the first-year players are five freshmen and two transfers, Jade Hennig and Kirstin Morris.
FGCU finished the 2010 season 24-28 overall and 12-8 in Atlantic Sun play. The squad returns its two leading pitchers, Catherine McDaniel and Kelci Breaux, and top hitter Courtney Platt. Last season, the Eagles faced two ACC schools, falling to both Georgia Tech and Maryland.
Long Island posted a 39-18 mark in 2011, including a 17-3 Northeast Conference record en route to the conference championship and trip to the NCAA tournament in the Massachusetts regional. There, the Blackbirds defeated No. 21 Massachusetts and Boston University, but ended up falling to No. 10 Arizona State.
Fifth-ranked Florida, a 2010 Women's College World Series participant, finished last season 49-10, good for sixth in the final NFCA rankings. The Gators return 11 letterwinners from that squad, including leading hitter Michelle Moultrie (.389) and top pitcher Stephanie Brombacher, who tallied a 2.01 ERA in 2010.
Marshall returns 14 letterwinners, six of whom are starters, from last season's 24-30-1 squad. The Thundering Herd also adds a slew of transfers to the 2011 team, which looks to improve on its ninth place Conference USA finish a season ago.
Tournament host USF ended the 2010 season 24-29 en route to a seventh place Big East finish. The Bulls return nine starters from last year's squad, and boast nine newcomers.
After this weekend, NC State will travel to Athens, Ga., to take part in the Georgia Softball Classic Feb. 18-20.
The NC State softball yearbook is now available on GoPack.com. To view the 2011 version, click the link beneath in the team link sidebar.
NC STATE USF WILSON DeMARINI TOURNAMENT GAMES
Games played at the Eddie C. Moore Complex: Clearwater, Fla.
Friday, February 11
NC State vs. FGCU, 4 p.m.
NC State vs.Long Island, 8 p.m.
Saturday, February 12
NC State vs. Florida, 3 p.m.
NC State vs. USF, 5 p.m.
Sunday, February 13
NC State vs. Marshall, 9 a.m.
