[UPDATE: 2/8/13 | Alabama State adjusted the schedule for this weekend's tournament and the Golden Eagles will now play the Lady Hornets on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.]

By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – It may still be early February, but the first sign of spring is this week as Tennessee Tech breaks out the bats, balls and gloves to open the 2023 Golden Eagle softball season.

Tech will only see three different opponents in five games at the Alabama State Stinger Classic this weekend as the Golden Eagles open the season on Friday with a 10 a.m. matchup with Western Carolina, followed by a 3 p.m. contest against Kennesaw State.

It won't be the only time Tech sees the Owls as the Golden Eagles will also play again against KSU on Saturday, games starting at 9 a.m. The Golden Eagles will then close out their first tournament of the season on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. as they take on the host Alabama State.

All games are weather permitting – rain is in the forecast for Thursday into Friday morning, but the weekend forecast for Montgomery is currently showing partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies for the rest of the event.

The Catamounts finished 19-34 last season with a 4-14 record in the Southern Conference. WCU fell in the first round of the SoCon Championship with a 3-2 extra-inning loss to Chattanooga, defeated ETSU 3-2 in the consolation bracket, then fell 8-5 to Furman.

WCU placed four players on the preseason All-SoCon team, including 2021 SoCon Player of the Year Bailey Hunnicutt at short. Hunnicutt leads WCU in career home runs with 37 and finished 2022 with a .329 batting average with 15 homers and 50 RBI. She is the program's third player to have over 100 career RBI.

Outfielder Brooklyn Brewington (30 stolen bases, 30 runs scored, 15 RBI) and designated player Riley Lambert (nine hits, five runs and one RBI in an injury-shortened campaign) were also on the conference first team, while graduate first baseman Myra Twitty (.277, 39 hits, 23 runs scored) was on the second team.

The Catamounts were projected to finish fourth in the SoCon, tied with Furman in the preseason poll.

Kennesaw State, meanwhile, finished 23-28 last season, including a 12-12 finish in the Atlantic Sun. The Owls topped Stetson in the tournament play-in, then fell to North Florida to fall into the consolation bracket. KSU staved off elimination with a 14-4 victory over former Ohio Valley Conference member Jacksonville State, but saw its season come to an end with a 5-1 victory against No. 2-seed Central Arkansas.

Extra Inning Softball picked KSU third baseman Taylor Cates as the No. 7 third baseman in the country – posting exceptional numbers with a .389 batting average, 40 runs, 61 hits, 15 doubles, 19 home runs, 133 total bases and a .433 on-base percentage. She set single-season records in home runs and total bases.

The Owls were picked third in the A-Sun preseason poll.

Host Alabama State was picked to finish first in the Southwestern Athletic Conference's Eastern Division, with outfielder Kendall Deramus tabbed as the SWAC's Preseason Player of the Year. Deramus batted .410 last season as a leadoff hitter, collecting seven doubles, three triples, 39 runs scored and 25 RBI as well as 35 stolen bases in 40 attempts.

The Lady Hornets also earned a second-team preseason pick in pitcher Bailey Greenlee, who finished last season with a 14-14 record and a 3.72 ERA with four shutouts and two saves. Across 191 innings, Greenlee struck out 131 and walked 60, including a season-opening 17-strikeout performance against Purdue Fort Wayne.

ASU finished 24-31 overall, 12-12 in the SWAC. The Lady Hornets fell in the SWAC tournament championship 9-1 to Prairie View A&M after forcing the if-necessary game.

The weekend marks the first contests for new Golden Eagle head coach Danielle Penner, who enters her new post with a 404-210 all-time record in 13 seasons, including 12 at Division II Barry University. She was most recently the top assistant at Coastal Carolina.

The Golden Eagles saw big offensive breakthroughs last season as the team finished 32-22 and reached its first OVC tournament since the 2017 campaign. Tech returns five of its top eight hitters from a season ago, including OVC Player To Watch Haeli Bryson, who returns for her graduate season.

Bryson finished last season with a .392 batting average, driving in a team-best 41 RBI with 12 doubles, one triple and nine home runs with 46 runs scored.

Tech was picked third in the OVC's preseason poll.

Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information