Miami opens season in Chicago

By Jordan Rinard, Senior Staff Writer

The Miami University softball team begins its 2015 campaign in Rosemont, Illinois as it takes on five teams in the Total Control Sports Invitational this weekend. The RedHawks take on Samford University and Syracuse University starting at 2 p.m. Friday, the University of North Dakota 10 a.m. Saturday, the University of Illinois at Chicago 5:30 Saturday and Loyola (Chi.) University 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

Returning into the fold for Miami are seniors outfielder Bree Lipscomb and infielder/pitcher Remy Edwards. Lipscomb was tied for first in the MAC with 19 doubles, and was ninth with 38 RBIs and a .581 slugging percentage. Edwards will be making her return to the mound after spending the previous three seasons in the infield for the 'Hawks.

Also returning for the Red and White is junior outfielder Taylor Shuey, who is looking to build off a strong 2014 season where she had team-highs with a.323 batting average and a .394 on-base percentage.

"We've been seeing some live pitching in practice and reading some scouting reports this week," Shuey said of the team's preparation. "We've been scrimmaging against each other for four weeks so we're excited to quit scrimmaging and compete against someone else. This weekend we need to be on top of our game and keep things simple at the plate."

Junior pitcher Amber Logemann had a strong 2014 as well, with a 3.30 ERA, four complete games and was eighth in the conference with 126 strikeouts. The rest of the pitching staff includes Edwards, senior and closer Megan Mattera, and sophomore Kelsey Fredericks, who will likely see more action this season.

The team is seeking to build off its appearance in the 2014 MAC Tournament and will try to do so against some quality opponents this weekend. Samford went 38-18 in 2014, while Syracuse took out a ranked UAB squad before falling in the opening round of the ACC Tournament.

North Dakota went 32-18 last season before being defeated in one of the later rounds of its conference tournament. UIC knocked off the University of Toledo, Michigan State University and Indiana University before getting knocked out of the Horizon League Tournament. Loyola lost in the Missouri Valley Conference title game.

"We're focusing on taking care of ourselves and working on our fundamentals," head coach Clarisa Crowell said. "It's really hard to evaluate five teams, so we're looking at them as a whole, what the key plays are on defense and their pitching. But we still need to take care of ourselves and bring some energy. For the pitchers, it gets old to go against your teammates everyday, so it's exciting for them to pitch against someone else for a change. We're in a good spot, but we need to get some of our players healthy.