JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The North Florida softball team will open up its season this weekend with five games at Combat Classic hosted by Florida International, Feb. 11-13, in Miami, Fla. at the FIU Softball Complex.
Four of the five opponents the Ospreys will face are ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Preseason Poll, led by No. 22 Ohio State. Also included in the tournament are No. 30 DePaul, No. 34 Florida International, No. 35 Kentucky and Memphis.
The Ospreys will start the tournament off against Memphis on Friday at 10 a.m. and follow up with a battle with No. 30 DePaul. The all-time series between Memphis and North Florida is knotted at 1-1, meeting during a doubleheader in Jacksonville on March 10, 2010. North Florida and DePaul will be meeting for the first time in program history.
On Saturday, North Florida returns to action against No. 22 Ohio State at 4 p.m. before meeting Kentucky on the field at 8 p.m. for the night cap. The Ospreys have matched up against the Buckeyes just once before, knocking off then No. 16 Ohio State, 1-0, on March 20, 2010 at the USF “The Game” Tournament in Tampa, Fla. The Kentucky and North Florida game under the lights will mark the first meeting between the two schools.
The North Florida squad wraps up its weekend competition on Sunday at 1 p.m. against host-school No. 34 Florida International. The only other meeting between the two schools came in this tournament last year on Feb. 14 where the Ospreys dropped a 5-4 decision to the Panthers.
Fans can follow the action via live stats at the tournament website by clicking here.
