Softball Heads South for Bubly Invitational

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Syracuse (2-6) softball team is set for the Bubly Invitational, Feb. 22-24, where the Orange will take on No. 3 Florida, Illinois State and Florida A&M.

'Cuse begins its five-game stretch Friday with an 11 a.m. matchup against Illinois State followed by a 1:30 game against Florida A&M. The Orange will then take on host Florida Saturday at 1:30 p.m. with a rematch against Florida A&M at 6:30 p.m. The weekend concludes with a second meeting against the Gators Sunday at 12 p.m.

Syracuse is coming off a 1-3 performance at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge where the Orange fell twice to then-No.24/RV Indiana who remained unbeaten. The highlight of the weekend came in an 11-1, five-inning win over Penn State. Syracuse scored nine runs in the fourth inning, including a bases-clearing triple from Alicia Hansen.

Illinois State stands at 1-9 this season, having faced five-ranked opponents. The Redbirds' lone win of the season came last weekend in an 8-0, five-inning victory against San Diego. Senior Shannon Felde pitched a complete game shutout against the Toreros, tying a career-high four strikeouts. Sophomore Andrea Coursey leads the team with a .345 batting average that includes six RBIs and ten hits. The Redbirds are coached by Melinda Fischer, who is in her 34^th season at the helm of the program. Fischer is one of only 22 head coaches in the NCAA with more than 1,000 wins. Friday will be only the second all-time meeting between the two schools and the first since 2001.

Florida A&M (0-7) opened their season with five games last weekend at the Sand Dollar Classic before playing a doubleheader to Troy on Wednesday. The Rattlers had five players named to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Preseason All-Star team. Junior pitcher Kyaira Brown headed the class earning first-team honors after compiling 139 strikeouts last season. Tyra Bowers leads Florida A&M with six hits this season, including two runs scored and two RBIs. This weekend will be the first meeting between the two programs.

Florida comes into the weekend as one of nine remaining undefeated teams in NCAA softball with an 12-0 record. The Gators began the season ranked at No. 4 but have slid into the third spot following three wins against Top-25 teams and three shutouts. Florida has eight different batters who have picked up at least one home run and five who have multiple. 2018 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Finalist, Amanda Lorenz has picked up right where she left off. Lorenz leads the Gators with a .469 batting average, 13 runs scored, 17 hits and three home runs. Senior Kelly Barnhill earned SEC Pitcher of the Week accolades for the 11^th time in her career last week after she tallied a season-high 14 strikeouts against No. 14/16 Arizona State.

Following the Bubly Invitational, Syracuse travels to the Midwest for the OSU/Tulsa Invitational hosted in Stillwater, Okla. The Orange will face #20/16 Oklahoma State, Tulsa and Illinois in the two day tournament March 1-2.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alicia Hansen

Syracuse University Athletics