The start of the 2017 season for the University of Evansville softball season is less than 24 hours away as the Purple Aces begin play at the Plainsman Invite on Friday at noon.
Below is the full schedule for the weekend:
Friday Feb. 17 – vs. Mercer – 12 p.m.
Friday Feb. 17 – vs. SIU Edwardsville – 7 p.m.
Saturday Feb. 18 – vs. Creighton – 1 p.m.
Saturday Feb. 18 – at #2 Auburn – 3:30 p.m.
Sunday Feb. 19 – vs. Creighton – 9:30 a.m.
Live stats are available all weekend and a video link for the Auburn contest are available at the tournament central page, which is linked above.
After one of the top ten turnarounds in the NCAA in 2016, the Purple Aces are poised for more in 2017. UE returns 18 players from last year and welcome five newcomers to this year’s squad. Just two players from last season are no longer with the team as Amanda Blankenship graduated and Danielle Freeman returned to the women’s swim team at UE.
In non-conference play this season, UE will face three of the top six teams in the preseason poll. The Aces open the season in a tournament at #2 Auburn and travel to #1 Oklahoma in early March. In the final weekend of non-conference play, UE will face preseason #6 Michigan in a tournament hosted by the University of Kentucky.
Evansville was picked sixth in the Preseason Missouri Valley Conference Poll. The Aces received 53 points, just one behind 5th-place Illinois State. Sophomore Morgan Florey was chosen to the Preseason All-Conference Team.
The reigning MVC Freshman of the Year earned recognition from Fastpitch News (FPN) as she appeared on their list of the top 50 pitchers in the NCAA. Florey was ranked 33rd on the list. Evansville also had two others receive MVC recognition last season. Chandra Parr garnered her second All-Conference First Team honor while Susan Norris was named to the All-Defensive Team.
Mat Mundell and assistants Ashley Balazs & Aubrey Watson were the 2016 Missouri Valley Conference Coaching Staff of the Year. The trio turned around a team that went 10-45 and 2-23 in conference play in 2015 into a true league contender as the squad was 24-26 overall and 12-14 in conference play in 2016.
Highlighting the weekend for UE is a game against Auburn, who is ranked second in the nation. The Tigers stand at 3-1 after the Triple Crown Tournament last weekend in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Their lone loss came to Washington, who is ranked in the top ten in the NCAA. They fell by a 2-1 final in 10 innings. They began the season with an impressive 3-2 win over defending national champion Oklahoma.
The weekend begins against Mercer, who went 2-2 in their home tournament last weekend. They earned wins against Portland State and Dayton. Friday’s second opponent will be SIU Edwardsville. The Cougars went a perfect 5-0 in the Mardi Gras Classic last weekend in Monroe, La. They defeated Grambling, Northwestern State, Prairie View A&M, Louisiana Monroe and Sam Houston State.
Creighton is the final opponent for UE. The Aces will take on their former league foe twice in the opening weekend. The Bluejays began their season at last weekend’s Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. They earned a win over Saint Mary’s, but dropped contests against #9 Oregon, Stanford, Cal Poly and San Jose State.
