HBU Huskies (0-0) at Sand Dollar Classic
Jackson State, Samford, Southeast Missouri State, Florida A&MFeb. 11-13Gulf Shores Sportsplex • Gulf Shores, Ala.Tournament Information | Live Audio GULF SHORES, Ala. – The HBU softball team kicks off the 2016 season, participating in the second annual Sand Dollar Classic across Feb. 12-14 at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex. Hosted by The Fieldhouse, the Huskies will face Florida A&M, Jackson State, Samford and Southeast Missouri State across the three-day tournament.
HBU will open the season with a 12 p.m. first pitch against JSU on Friday, before facing Samford (3 p.m.) and SEMO (6 p.m.) on Saturday. All three games will take place on field three at the sportsplex.
The Huskies will close the tournament with a 9 a.m. tilt with FAMU at field five on Sunday.
The Legacy Sports Network will once again be the audio broadcast partner of HBU. Every softball game can be heard on HBUHuskies.com with Bill Cousins handling the play-by-play duties this season. There will be no live stats available for the tournament.
Head coach
Mary-Ellen Hall, HBU's all-time winningest coach in any sport, enters her 25th season at the helm with a record of 741-440 (.627). The Huskies are coming off a 13-32 season in 2015, finishing 5-20 in Southland Conference play.
HBU returns 10 letterwinners and six position starters from last season. The Huskies also return all four players who saw time in the circle.
Last season, sophomore outfielder
Nicole Shedd earned All-SLC honorable mention, while, off the field, junior outfielder
Cecilia Bauer were named to the Academic All-SLC and Capital One Academic All-District first teams.
Shedd started all but one of her 44 appearances as a freshman, finishing second on the team with a .333 batting average and 23 RBIs. She also recorded seven doubles, 12 runs and team-bests with two triples and four home runs.
Bauer, playing in 41 games with 38 starts, led the team and was 14th in the Southland with a .356 batting average last season. The native of Refugio, Texas, registered three doubles, one triple, two home runs, eight RBI and 17 runs scored.
Senior
Laci Belovsky is the top arm back for HBU. Last season, she posted a 9-13 record with a 4.56 ERA across 19 starts and 31 total appearances. Belovsky recorded 11 complete games, four shutouts and struck out a staff-best 86 over 139.2 innings.
The Huskies are 4-6 combined against JSU (3-4), Samford (0-1) and SEMO (1-1). HBU and FAMU will meet for the first time when the two teams take the field on Sunday. The Rattlers are one of three opponents the Huskies will face this season who advanced to the 2015 NCAA Softball Championship.
Following the weekend, the Huskies will play in a tournament at Louisiana Tech across Feb. 19-20.
