Friday, March 2
Knoxville, Tenn.
12:30 P.M.
University of Toledo
vs
South Alabama
The Rockets are 7-3 to start the season for the first time since 1986
Rockets Travels to Knoxville for the Tennessee Invitational
3/1/2018 9:21:00 AM | Softball
TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo softball team heads to Knoxville, Tenn. for the University of Tennessee Invitational from Friday, March 2-4. The Rockets will play South Alabama (12:30 p.m.) and the host Volunteers (5:30 p.m.) on Friday before battling Charleston Southern (10:00 a.m.) in the last of the the round robin matchups on Saturday.
The four teams will play a tournament-style semifinal round on Saturday afternoon and complete the weekend with a championship game and a consolation game on Sunday. All games will be held at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
Toledo
The Rockets went 4-1 in the WKU Hilltopper Classic last weekend and are currently 7-3 on the year. The 7-3 record is Toledo's best 10-game start to a season since 1986. UT has won its last four games, including pair of shutouts against Western Kentucky and Wisconsin-Green Bay, and a 5-4 win in extra innings over UW-Green Bay.
The strength of the Rockets in the early goings of the season has been their pitching. UT has posted the 21st-lowest ERA in the country. Toledo's 1.32 ERA is in large part thanks to juniors Heather Webb and Kailey Minarchick. Webb (3-1) has a 0.88 ERA in 24.0 innings, while Minarchick (4-1) boasts a 1.09 ERA in a team high 32.0 frames. The duo has both claimed MAC West Pitcher of the Week honors this season.
Offensively, freshmen Bailey Curry and Kylie Norwood lead the team in hitting with a .375 (12-for-32) and .355 (11-for-31) average, respectively. Junior Kaitlyn Bergman tops the squad with five RBIs and five walks in 2018.
Toledo is 9-2 all time against the three teams it will play this weekend. The Rockets are 9-1 against Charleston Southern and 0-1 in program history against Tennessee. UT and South Alabama have never met prior to Friday.
South Alabama (8-8)
Sixteen games into the season, the Jaguars are at the .500 mark. South Alabama has a pair of statement wins over teams receiving votes in the national polls. USA beat Illinois, 10-3, in the Friends of Jaclyn Invitational and topped No. 9 Florida State, 3-1. The Jags have won their last two games entering the weekend.
Brittani Reid leads the Jaguars with a .314 (11-for35) average, two home runs and nine runs scored. Lyric Cabral has driven in a team-high eight runs, while Devin Brown has accumulated a 6-4 record in 12 appearances in the circle.
Tennessee (16-1)
The host for this weekend jumped six spots to No. 5 in USA Today Coaches Poll after a 6-0 weekend in the Mary Nutter Classic. On the year, Tennessee has wins over No. 19 Arizona State, No. 15 Utah, No. 19 Oklahoma State and No. 5 Oregon. The Volunteers lone slip up of the year is a 3-2 loss to Florida Atlantic.
Tennessee, a 2017 super regional qualifier, is led offensively by Meghan Gregg who is hitting .500 (27-for-54) with a team-best five home runs, six doubles and a team-high 24 RBIs. As a team, the other UT collectively hits .321 (150-for-468) which is good for 28th-best nationally.Â
Co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly, grandparents of Toledo freshman Taylor Weekly, have spearheaded a Tennessee program that has finished runner-up in two college world series with five other College Softball World Series appearances. The pair has also claimed SEC Co-Coach of the Year honors in 2004 and 2007.
Charleston Southern (13-3)
The Buccaneers put their eight-game winning streak on the line this weekend. Six of their 13 wins have come via the run rule as CSU's offense has scored 6.9 runs per game for the 14th-most prolific offense in the country. Two of their losses came to the same Valparaiso team in the Buccaneer Invitational two weekends ago.
On the season, Jade Gandara has hit .490 (24-for-49), six home runs and 22 RBIs to lead the team in all three triple crown categories. In the circle, the Bucs have a 1.89 ERA in an even 100.0 innings of play.
Toledo is very familiar with Charleston Southern with many connections to the coaching staff. Head coach Kristen Butler spent two seasons as a Buccaneer assistant coach, pitching coach Brandon Duncan is a Charleston, S.C. native and spent three years as an assistant at CSU, while volunteer assistant Natalie Yonan was a four-year player at CSU from 2013-16.
Next For UT
Toledo heads west to continue its spring break trip with double header against Seattle and Portland State. After that, the Rockets take part in the Oregon Invitational where they will play No. 6 Oregon, Weber State, Montana and Bryant.
The four teams will play a tournament-style semifinal round on Saturday afternoon and complete the weekend with a championship game and a consolation game on Sunday. All games will be held at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
Toledo
The Rockets went 4-1 in the WKU Hilltopper Classic last weekend and are currently 7-3 on the year. The 7-3 record is Toledo's best 10-game start to a season since 1986. UT has won its last four games, including pair of shutouts against Western Kentucky and Wisconsin-Green Bay, and a 5-4 win in extra innings over UW-Green Bay.
The strength of the Rockets in the early goings of the season has been their pitching. UT has posted the 21st-lowest ERA in the country. Toledo's 1.32 ERA is in large part thanks to juniors Heather Webb and Kailey Minarchick. Webb (3-1) has a 0.88 ERA in 24.0 innings, while Minarchick (4-1) boasts a 1.09 ERA in a team high 32.0 frames. The duo has both claimed MAC West Pitcher of the Week honors this season.
Offensively, freshmen Bailey Curry and Kylie Norwood lead the team in hitting with a .375 (12-for-32) and .355 (11-for-31) average, respectively. Junior Kaitlyn Bergman tops the squad with five RBIs and five walks in 2018.
Toledo is 9-2 all time against the three teams it will play this weekend. The Rockets are 9-1 against Charleston Southern and 0-1 in program history against Tennessee. UT and South Alabama have never met prior to Friday.
South Alabama (8-8)
Sixteen games into the season, the Jaguars are at the .500 mark. South Alabama has a pair of statement wins over teams receiving votes in the national polls. USA beat Illinois, 10-3, in the Friends of Jaclyn Invitational and topped No. 9 Florida State, 3-1. The Jags have won their last two games entering the weekend.
Brittani Reid leads the Jaguars with a .314 (11-for35) average, two home runs and nine runs scored. Lyric Cabral has driven in a team-high eight runs, while Devin Brown has accumulated a 6-4 record in 12 appearances in the circle.
Tennessee (16-1)
The host for this weekend jumped six spots to No. 5 in USA Today Coaches Poll after a 6-0 weekend in the Mary Nutter Classic. On the year, Tennessee has wins over No. 19 Arizona State, No. 15 Utah, No. 19 Oklahoma State and No. 5 Oregon. The Volunteers lone slip up of the year is a 3-2 loss to Florida Atlantic.
Tennessee, a 2017 super regional qualifier, is led offensively by Meghan Gregg who is hitting .500 (27-for-54) with a team-best five home runs, six doubles and a team-high 24 RBIs. As a team, the other UT collectively hits .321 (150-for-468) which is good for 28th-best nationally.Â
Co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly, grandparents of Toledo freshman Taylor Weekly, have spearheaded a Tennessee program that has finished runner-up in two college world series with five other College Softball World Series appearances. The pair has also claimed SEC Co-Coach of the Year honors in 2004 and 2007.
Charleston Southern (13-3)
The Buccaneers put their eight-game winning streak on the line this weekend. Six of their 13 wins have come via the run rule as CSU's offense has scored 6.9 runs per game for the 14th-most prolific offense in the country. Two of their losses came to the same Valparaiso team in the Buccaneer Invitational two weekends ago.
On the season, Jade Gandara has hit .490 (24-for-49), six home runs and 22 RBIs to lead the team in all three triple crown categories. In the circle, the Bucs have a 1.89 ERA in an even 100.0 innings of play.
Toledo is very familiar with Charleston Southern with many connections to the coaching staff. Head coach Kristen Butler spent two seasons as a Buccaneer assistant coach, pitching coach Brandon Duncan is a Charleston, S.C. native and spent three years as an assistant at CSU, while volunteer assistant Natalie Yonan was a four-year player at CSU from 2013-16.
Next For UT
Toledo heads west to continue its spring break trip with double header against Seattle and Portland State. After that, the Rockets take part in the Oregon Invitational where they will play No. 6 Oregon, Weber State, Montana and Bryant.
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