Spartans Prepare for Opening Weekend Series

TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tampa softball team will look to jump start their season with a four-game weekend series against Ursuline and Newberry. 

The Matchups, Date/Time: 

- *Saturday, 2:00pm* (DH): University of Tampa Spartans (2019: 34-13, 22-8 SSC) vs. Ursuline College Arrows (2019: 18-30, 13-13 GMAC)

- Sunday, 12:00pm (DH): University of Tampa Spartans (2019: 34-13, 22-8 SSC) vs. Newberry College Wolves (2019: 29-16, 11-9 SAC)

* Time changed due to weather.

Location: Naimoli Family Softball Field || Tampa, Fla.

About the Spartans: Tampa enjoyed a memorable season in 2019 with 22 wins in conference, the most in UT history, and a remarkable 19-game winning streak to break the school record. UT reached the postseason for the first time since 2015 and advanced to the NCAA South Regional Final. The Spartans will have big shoes to fill following the graduation of All-American pitcher, Makaleigh Dooley. Last year, Dooley compiled a 28-8 record with a 1.02 ERA in 39 appearances, eclisping the school-record for wins in a season. The pitching staff will turn to Corynn Miner; the redshirt-junior from St. Petersburg has accumulated an 18-8 record in 43 appearances. Miner's logged 25 career starts, posting a 1.76 ERA in 183.1 innings pitched. In 2019, the dual-threat right-hander led the team in at-bats (142), doubles (8), triples (2), and tied for the most extra-base hits (12). Head coach Leslie Kanter returns for her 26th season at the helm, the USF graduate is one of three SSC coaches to reach the 600-win mark. Kanter will look for contributions from the newcomers as she welcomes six freshmen and one sophomore transfer. Jodi Handler, a right-handed pitcher, transferred in from Georgia Southern University where she made 10 appearances in her freshman campaign. Last season, the Spartans relied on a pair of freshman as Lexie Chevalier and Stephanie Balmer performed above-and-beyond expectations. Chevalier led the team with 40 hits; the most by a freshman since 2009 (Becky Vyzas). The Bloomingdale HS graduate led the way in runs scored (20) and tied for the team-lead with four homeruns. Balmer was named to the All-SSC Second Team as the shortstop started in all 47 games and logged a 10-game hit streak. The freshman duo appeared in every game, only six players accomplished the feat. Maddie Farrell, a senior catcher, returns for UT after leading the team in RBI (24) and tied at the top in batting average (.288) with Chevalier.

Last Time Out: The Spartans reached the NCAA South Regional Final, coming out of the winner's bracket, after defeating No. 18 Valdosta State and top-seeded No. 2 West Florida. UWF clawed out of the loser's bracket and defeated Tampa 1-0 in 8 innings. In the winner-take-all matchup, Chevalier led off the game with a solo homerun. However, the Argonauts found a way to win with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to advance to the NCAA South Super Regional. In all four postseason contests, the outcome was decided by one run and three of the four games went to extra innings. 

About the Arrows: Ursuline ended the year on a high-note, winning four of their last five games. UC finished .500 in conference and did not make the postseason. The Arrows utilized a three-pitcher committee in 2019 and they'll return two of the three in 2020. Brooklyn Miller, a two-way player for Ursuline, led the team in pitching appearances (34) and started in 25 contests. The right-handed senior from Ohio owned a 2.84 ERA while leading the team offensively in hits (59) and batting average (.366). UC lost three of their four best offensive players to graduation, however, Nicole Rawlings will return for the Arrows. Rawlings, a left-handed sophomore, owned the second spot in the rotation with 26 appearances posting a 4.51 ERA. The southpaw is the second-leading returner offensively, finishing 2019 with a .283 batting average and 32 hits. 

Series History with Ursuline: Tampa's won all three games in the short-lived history, beginning in 2016. The Spartans took the series opener, 6-1, in Clearwater, Fla. during the NFCA Leadoff Classic on February 5, 2016. Last season, these two programs kicked off the year at Naimoli Family Field with UT securing two victories by a 14-0 margin. In game two, Corynn Miner earned her first victory of 2019 with a complete game performance allowing four hits while striking out three. Making her freshman debut, Lexie Chevalier went 2-for-4 on the day with four RBI.

About the Wolves: Newberry reached the South Atlantic Conference tournament in 2019 but fell to Anderson, 10-6, in the opening game. The Wolves will begin their season on Saturday with a double-header against Eckerd College. Newberry has been picked to finish seventh in the SAC preseason coaches' poll, however, they have four players selected to the preseason all-conference teams. Despite losing their top offensive producer, NC's roster contains a handful of veteran players as five of their top six offensive players will return in 2020. Haley Simonds and Hannah Davis combined for 27 homeruns, 19 doubles and 106 RBI last year. Alyssa Ball and Selice Daley return for another season in the circle, the duo combined for all 45 starts in 2019. 

Series History with Newberry: These two programs have met once in softball history as the Spartans mercy-ruled Newberry, 10-2 (6 Innings), in February of 2017. Corynn Miner secured the complete game victory with six innings of two-run ball. The freshman struck out four while allowing four hits and two walks. Miner and Maddie Farrell were the only two current Spartans to appear in that matchup.

Watch Live: Fans may watch the game through TampaSpartans.tv. Live stats are available through TampaStats.com.

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