Softball | 2/11/2016 3:08:00 PM

Complete Tournament Schedule

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The 2016 softball season begins Friday as Texas State will host Abilene Christian, Oklahoma State, DePaul and Northwestern State in the Century Link Classic at the Bobcat Softball Stadium. The Bobcats will play six games, beginning with Abilene Christian at 3 p.m. Friday.
 
Texas State will play two games each on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Along with Abilene Christian, the Bobcats will also take on Oklahoma State Friday at 5 p.m.
 
Saturday, the 'Cats will take on DePaul at 10 a.m. and Northwestern State at 12:30 p.m. Sunday's games will be against Oklahoma State at 12 p.m. and Abilene Christian in the tournament finale at 2 p.m.
 
A Look At The Competition
Abilene Christian
The Wildcats enter the Century Link Classic coming off of a 14-33 record in 2015.
 
Abilene Christian was .500 against teams in the Southland Conference in its first season as a member of NCAA Division I in 2014. At the helm for the Wildcats is head coach Bobby Reeves, who is in his sixth season at ACU.
 
Sophomore infielders Peyton Hedrick, Alyson Bishoff and junior outfielder Taylor Brown were named to the 2016 Preseason All-Southland Team.
 
As a freshman Hedrick was an NFCA Second-Team All-Region selection where she hit .432 and started every game at shortstop. She finished the 2015 season with 12 home runs, 11 doubles and five triples. In her sophomore season, Brown hit .367 and set a school record of 11 triples in 47 starts.
 
DePaul
Picked to finish third in the Big East, DePaul is coming to San Marcos off of a 22-24 record from 2015.
 
Head coach Eugene Lenti enters his 35th season at DePaul. First-Team All-Conference selection Morgan Maize is one of the five starters from the 2015 season to return for the Blue Demons. Maize's .421 batting average ranked third in the Big East during conference play. As a team, DePaul hit 58 home runs in the 2015 season.
 
A key loss for the Blue Demons is Mary Connolly who led the pitching staff with 170 innings, 93 strikeouts and a 4.57 ERA. Connolly also spent time in the batter's box, hitting .383 and leading the team with 16 home runs, 48 RBI, 100 total bases and a .870 slugging percentage.
 
Northwestern State
The Lady Demons head into the 2016 season coming off of a 36-18 record in 2015.
 
Northwestern State returns seven of the nine starters including Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year, Mikayla Brown. In her freshman campaign, Brown finished the season 13-4 with a 1.56 ERA.
 
All-SLC First-Team selections Micaela Bouvier and Kellye Kincannon, who was also the SLC Softball Student-Athlete of the Year, return to the field as well. Kincannon finished the season with a .409 batting average, 135 total bases and 15 home runs.
 
In 2015, the Lady Demons hit 82 home runs and surrendered only 18 to opponents.
 
Oklahoma State
The Cowgirls begin their 2016 season with 16-straight road games. Oklahoma State finished the 2015 season 21-31, with a 7th place finish in the Big 12 Conference. The Cowgirls have a new captain at the helm, Kenny Gajewski, who spent three season as an assistant coach for the back-to-back Women's College World Series Champion, Florida Gators.
 
The Cowgirls lost their lead hitter, Shelby Davis, but return two offensive powerhouses, Tiffany Mikkelson and Vanessa Shippy. Mikkelson racked up 13 home runs and 46 RBI and Shippy hit a team-high 12 doubles.
 
Dripping Springs native Brandi Needham tossed 159.1 innings and ended the season with a 12-17 record and 4.61 ERA. Opponents hit .343 off of Needham and she surrendered 19 home runs. She led the pitching staff with 74 strikeouts.
 
Bobcat Tidbits
The 2016 Texas State squad was selected to finish fourth in the Sun Belt Conference after a third place finish in 2015.
 
Sophomore pitcher Randi Rupp was named the 2016 Sun Belt Softball Preseason Pitcher of the Year and senior first baseman Kendall Wiley was an at-large selection to the preseason team. Rupp led the pitching staff and Sun Belt Conference with 293 strikeouts earning her multiple spots in the Texas State record books. Wiley led the team with a .387 batting average, 60 hits and 49 RBI.
 
As a team, the Bobcats hit 59 home runs in 2015 and finished the season with a .290 batting average.
 
Ricci Woodard enters her 16^th season as head coach and is joined by assistant coaches Cat Osterman and Kelly Kretschman.
 
Bobcat Additions
After a third place finish in the Sun Belt Conference, the Bobcats look improve with more experience and depth going into the 2016 season.
 
Texas State brought in six newcomers to its roster, including one freshman and five transfer students. Sophomore standout Randi Rupp will share time in the circle with junior college transfers Quincy Charleston and Paige Williams.
 
Other newcomers include Alex Cruz, Corrina Liscano, Jaelyn Young and the lone freshman, Kayleigh Norte.
 
Returning To The Lineup
Bobcats returning to the infield include first baseman Kendall Wiley, second baseman Kelli Baker, shortstop Ariel Ortiz and catcher Sara Rupp. Wiley led the team with a .387 batting average with Ortiz and Baker close behind.
 
Ortiz, a Top 25 Finalist for NFCA Freshman of the Year, led the team with 16 doubles and 111 total bases. Her 12 home runs was the most homers hit by a freshman in school history and was just one home run shy of matching the single-season home run record. Wiley, Baker and Ortiz started every game in the 2015 season.
 
Outfielders returning for the Bobcats include Kimberlin Naivar, Lexi Fryar, Taylor Webb, Ashley Wright, Bianca Prado and Braegan Hamilton.
 
Returning in the circle is the 2016 SBC Preseason Pitcher of the Year, sophomore Randi Rupp. Rupp had a record-setting 2015 season where she racked up 293 strikeouts, tossed 11 shutouts, a no-hitter and the school's first perfect game since 2008.
 
Final Details
Fans can check out the tournament central page for full details of the schedule including links to live stats and live video that will be made available for each contest of the tournament. Live audio will also be available for Texas State contests.