TOLEDO, OH – Toledo will head to the Sunshine State for five games in this weekend's Strike Out Cancer Tournament hosted by Florida Atlantic University. All games will be held at the FAU Softball Stadium in Boca Raton, FL.
    UT will face tough matchups over the course of the weekend. Toledo will battle 2016 Conference USA champion Florida Atlantic, who finished last season ranked No. 24 by ESPN.com/USA Softball, as well as 2016 AAC champion and NCAA Tournament team Tulsa. The Rockets will also face Syracuse, St. John's and Savannah State.
                Live stats for all five games can be found on the Toledo Softball schedule page.
 
TOLEDO'S SCHEDULE
Friday, Feb. 17
                Tulsa vs. Toledo, 3:45 p.m.
                Toledo at Florida Atlantic, 8:15 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 18
                Syracuse vs. Toledo, 1:30 p.m.
                St. John's vs. Toledo, 3:45 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 19
                Savannah State vs. Toledo, 11:15 a.m.
 
OPPONENT BREAKDOWN
    Tulsa put together a 1-4 overall record while competing in the Hillenbrand Invitational last weekend. The Hurricanes were defeated by Fordham, Northwestern, No. 24 Baylor and No. 11 Arizona but claimed a victory over CSUN.  Tulsa has scored 18 runs in its five games. Sophomore Julia Hollingsworth batted .600 after going 9-for-15 at the plate with a double, a triple and a home run.
    Syracuse holds a 3-2 record heading into this weekend's tournament. The Orange traveled to Athens, GA last week to compete in the Red and Black Showcase Tournament where they defeated East Carolina and tallied two victories over Winthrop. The Orange dropped a pair of games to No. 12 Georgia. Syracuse has collected 26 runs in the past five games. Senior Sydney O'Hara paces the Orange with a .400 batting average (6-for-15) and tallied two doubles, three RBI and four runs scored.
    St. John's posted a 1-3 record at the USF-Wilson DeMarini Tournament. The Red Storm claimed their sole victory against Delaware, but lost to No. 1 Florida and No. 10 Michigan. St. John's put up an eight-inning battle against Illinois State but fell just short of the win (2-1). The squad has notched 13 runs in their four games. Freshman Kaitlin Mattera led the Red Storm with a .667 batting average after going 6-for-9 at the plate with three RBI.
    Savannah State will head into this weekend's tournament without a win and an overall record of 0-7. The Tigers dropped a game to Akron and were defeated twice by Charleston Southern, Kansas and Stetson in the Stetson Lead Off Classic. Savannah State has put together a total of 18 runs in their last seven games. Freshman Ashleigh Dennis tops the team with a .353 average (6-for-17), and recorded two home runs, four RBI and two runs scored.
    Florida Atlantic has a notable 4-2 record after hosting the Florida Atlantic Kickoff Classic last weekend. The Owls split a pair of games vs. North Florida and claimed victories over North Carolina State, Bethune Cookman, and Michigan State. FAU dropped its contest vs. Boston University (3-1) and tallied 28 runs over the course of the tournament. Senior Kylee Hanson (3-0) hurled three shutouts in 21 innings over the weekend. She tallied 28 strikeouts and only allowed nine hits.
 
TOLEDO VS. OPPONENTS
    Toledo and Tulsa are tied 1-1 in its all-time series. The two teams tangled in a doubleheader in 1995 where the Rockets first won, 4-3, before dropping the nightcap, 6-5.
    FAU holds a 2-0 advantage over the Rockets. The Owls won a doubleheader in 1999, 6-3, 6-3.
    UT is 1-0 all-time over the Orange. Toledo defeated Syracuse, 2-0, on March 13, 2015.
    St. John's holds a 2-0 lead in the all-time series with the Rockets. Most recently, the Red Storm bested UT, 3-1, on March 7, 2014.
    This will be the first-ever matchup between Toledo and Savannah State.
 
COZY NAMED SEASON'S FIRST MAC WEST POTW
    Sophomore Katie Cozy started four games for UT in last weekend's UNI-Dome Classic. The sophomore third baseman posted a .500 batting average (7-for-14), scored five runs and tallied 18 total bases. In Toledo's contest vs. Nebraska-Omaha, Cozy recorded her first career grand slam, a two-run homer and a double to register a 2.200 slugging percentage.
    The Louisville, OH native also recorded a home run vs. South Dakota State and a double vs. Montana. Cozy tops the team in batting average, runs, home runs, total bases, RBI (7), and slugging percentage (1.286). She is tied for first with seven hits.
 
UNI-DOME CLASSIC RECAP
    Toledo opened its 2017 season last weekend with a 1-4 record at the UNI-Dome Classic in Cedar Fall, IA. Cozy topped the Rockets with a .500 batting average (7-for-14) and registered five runs and seven RBI on two doubles and three home runs. Junior Ashley Maynard went 4-for-12 with two homers and a double and senior Chandler Rice tallied a triple and a home run.
    The Rockets soared to a 17-5 victory over Nebraska-Omaha in their final contest on Sunday, Feb. 12. Cozy went 4-for-5 during the match up against the Mavericks with a grand slam, a two-run home run and two doubles. Toledo closed out the game on an electric 9-0 run in the seventh frame. Sophomore Heather Webb claimed her first victory of the season after throwing four strikeouts in 4.1 innings.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
    UT will next venture to USC Upstate's Buffalo Wild Wings Classic in Spartanburg, SC on Feb. 24-25 where it will square off against Sacred Heart, Western Carolina, Furman and host Upstate, which made an appearance in last season's NCAA Tournament.