Friday, February 11
Jacksonville, Fla.
4 p.m.
University of North Florida
vs
Campbell
DIAMOND PREVIEW: Softball Hosts River City Leadoff
2/10/2022 12:00:00 PM | Softball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida softball opens its season hosting the River City Leadoff, jointly with Jacksonville University, with home games against Campbell, Florida A&M, Winthrop and NC State beginning on Friday. This is the second-straight season that the Ospreys will be hosting the River City Leadoff to kick off the season.
It is also the first of three home tournaments that UNF will be hosting this season, with the JU-UNF Invitational occurring from Feb. 18-19 and the UNF-JU Spring Break Challenge being played from Mar. 4-6.
- Ashley Goebel was tabbed in January to the Preseason All-ASUN Team as a catcher. The junior from Jupiter, Fla., batted .397 with 48 hits last season that ranked fifth for the Ospreys in its Division I history for batting average in a single season.
- Halle Arends and Morgan Clausen return after combining for 20 of the 21 wins for the Ospreys last season. They also had 232.2 of the 297.0 total innings pitched and combined for eight complete game performances.
- North Florida was picked to finish seventh in the ASUN conference this season as voted on by the league's coaches. UNF posted a record of 21-23 last season with a 9-9 record in the ASUN and 17 wins at home.
- The Ospreys return in 2022 with an experienced squad with 18 returning players and only losing one starter from last season. They also brought on five transfers and will only have one freshman on this year's team.
- Kayla McGory enters this season closing in on multiple Division I-era records for the Ospreys, as she currently sits fourth in total runs scored (92), third in most stolen bases (52), fourth in most assists (290), and third in most double plays turned (25). She is the most experienced player on the team with this being her sixth season at North Florida.
- Head coach Marcie Higgs will be entering her 14th season as the head softball coach for the Ospreys with an overall record of 337-319 while in Jacksonville, Fla. Her career overall record is 430-524 with stops as the head coach at Coppin State and Vermont before arriving to UNF.
Friday
FAMU vs Campbell - 1:30 p.m.
Campbell vs UNF - 4 p.m.
FAMU vs UNF - 6:30 p.m.
Saturday
Winthrop vs FAMU - 11 a.m.
NC State vs FAMU - 1:30 p.m.
Winthrop vs UNF - 4 p.m.
NC State vs UNF - 6:30 p.m.
Sunday
NC State vs Western Carolina - 10 a.m.
Winthrop vs UNF - 12:30 p.m.
It is also the first of three home tournaments that UNF will be hosting this season, with the JU-UNF Invitational occurring from Feb. 18-19 and the UNF-JU Spring Break Challenge being played from Mar. 4-6.
WHAT TO KNOW
- Ashley Goebel was tabbed in January to the Preseason All-ASUN Team as a catcher. The junior from Jupiter, Fla., batted .397 with 48 hits last season that ranked fifth for the Ospreys in its Division I history for batting average in a single season.- Halle Arends and Morgan Clausen return after combining for 20 of the 21 wins for the Ospreys last season. They also had 232.2 of the 297.0 total innings pitched and combined for eight complete game performances.
- North Florida was picked to finish seventh in the ASUN conference this season as voted on by the league's coaches. UNF posted a record of 21-23 last season with a 9-9 record in the ASUN and 17 wins at home.
- The Ospreys return in 2022 with an experienced squad with 18 returning players and only losing one starter from last season. They also brought on five transfers and will only have one freshman on this year's team.
- Kayla McGory enters this season closing in on multiple Division I-era records for the Ospreys, as she currently sits fourth in total runs scored (92), third in most stolen bases (52), fourth in most assists (290), and third in most double plays turned (25). She is the most experienced player on the team with this being her sixth season at North Florida.
- Head coach Marcie Higgs will be entering her 14th season as the head softball coach for the Ospreys with an overall record of 337-319 while in Jacksonville, Fla. Her career overall record is 430-524 with stops as the head coach at Coppin State and Vermont before arriving to UNF.
OPPONENTÂ NOTES
- Campbell went 28-19 last season, including a 15-3 record in Big South Conference play behind the bat of Bri Bryant and the pitching of Georgeanna Barefoot. Bryant, who will be a redshirt senior this season, broke out for .355 BA with 50 hits and six home runs last season. Barefoot will be a redshirt sophomore that had an ERA of 2.76 with a 14-7 record in 2021.
- UNF trails the overall series against the Camels, 8-5, with the last meeting being an Osprey win, 6-0, at home in 2018.
- Florida A&M had a 6-22 record last season, including a 5-7 record in SWAC play. Junior Melkayla Irvis is one of the top returners for FAMU this season, as she put up a .256 BA with .722 OPS and 16 runs last year. Junior Nadia Zenteno is their best returning pitcher after throwing 21 strikeouts in 57 innings pitched in 2021. This will also be head coach Constance Orr's second season leading the team.
- UNF leads the overall series against the Rattlers, 20-9, with the last meeting being an 8-0 victory at home last season.
- Winthrop posted a record of 26-24 during their 2021 campaign, as well as an 11-10 record in conference play. They join Campbell as competitors in this tournament from the Big South Conference. Junior Macy McCall is their leading hitter from last season with 54 hits on a .362 BA, as well as 17 RBIs and three home runs. Their top three pitchers from last season are no longer on the team, so they will have to rely on sophomore Mackenzie Smith and junior Bella Roy to step up.
- UNF trails the overall series against the Eagles, 2-1, with the last meeting being a loss, 4-3, for the Ospreys at home last season.
- NC State comes from the ACC with a 2021 record of 26-25 and a conference record of 15-22. They are the only team in the tournament from a Power Five conference. Fifth-year senior Logan Morris and graduate student Randi Farricker are the top NCST returners from last season with a combined 85 hits and 65 RBIs. Farricker also lead the team in home runs last year with 17 HRs, and Morris was not far behind with 10 HRs.
- UNF has lost both games against NC State in its program history, with their most recent game being a 7-0 loss at NC State in 2010.
FULL SCHEDULE (at UNF)
FridayFAMU vs Campbell - 1:30 p.m.
Campbell vs UNF - 4 p.m.
FAMU vs UNF - 6:30 p.m.
Saturday
Winthrop vs FAMU - 11 a.m.
NC State vs FAMU - 1:30 p.m.
Winthrop vs UNF - 4 p.m.
NC State vs UNF - 6:30 p.m.
Sunday
NC State vs Western Carolina - 10 a.m.
Winthrop vs UNF - 12:30 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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