POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist softball team begins its spring break trip to Tampa, Florida with five games in the USF Tournament this weekend.
 

Schedule

• Friday – vs. Penn State, 4:30 p.m.; vs. Saint Francis, 7 p.m.
• Saturday – vs. Illinois, 2 p.m.; at South Florida, 7:02 p.m.
• Sunday – vs. Florida Gulf Coast, 1 p.m.

 
Saturday's game at South Florida will be shown on ESPN+.
 

News & Notes

• Marist stands at 7-9 overall, and is coming off a 3-2 weekend at the Maroon & Gold Challenge in Charleston, South Carolina.
• On Tuesday, Haley Ahr was named MAAC Player and Rookie of the Week for the second time this season. Ahr is hitting a team-best .400 with a 1.035 OPS and 16 RBIs.
• Alyssa Grupp leads Marist with 11 runs scored.
• Six Red Foxes are hitting over .300: Ahr (.400), Peyton Pusey (.394), Grupp (.340), Maddie Pleasants (.333), Sam Freeland (.327), and Reese Wilson (.308).
• Calista Phippen leads the Red Foxes in wins (four), innings pitched (42), strikeouts (40), and ERA (1.67).

 

Scouting the Opposition

• Penn State (12-3) has won five straight, and opened USF Tournament play with 3-2 wins over both Florida Gulf Coast and South Florida on Thursday.
• Saint Francis (6-10) has dropped three straight, and opens the USF Tournament against Penn State on Friday morning.
• Illinois (12-6) is coming off a 3-1 weekend at the Gamecock Invitational, and three of its six losses are to nationally-ranked teams.
• South Florida (12-11) dropped its tournament opener to Penn State on Thursday. The Bulls will face Illinois on both Friday and Saturday prior to facing Marist.
• Florida Gulf Coast (13-10) fell to Penn State on Thursday, but had won six in a row prior to that.

 

Up Next

• Marist will remain in Tampa for the South Florida Showdown next weekend.
• The Red Foxes will take on host South Florida, Iowa, Texas, and Lehigh (two games) from March 17-19.