Road Trip to West Coast for Mary Nutter Classic
Game Notes | FloSoftball (subscription req.)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas softball continues its travels for the second weekend of the season with a road trip to California for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The three-day, 44-team event begins Friday at the Big League Dreams Complex in Cathedral City, Calif. In their first of five scheduled games, the Razorbacks are set to face New Mexico at 12:30 p.m. (CT). All five games will be streamed live through subscription via FloSoftball.
2016 Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic | Big League Dreams Complex (Cathedral City, Calif.)
Feb. 19 vs New Mexico – 12:30 p.m.
Feb. 19 vs George Washington – 3 p.m.
Feb. 20 vs Binghamton – 11:30 a.m.
Feb. 20 vs Army West Point – 2:30 p.m.
Feb. 21 vs Central Michigan – 11 a.m.
In addition to its weekend opener, Arkansas (1-4) will also play George Washington on Friday with games Saturday against Binghamton and Army West Point before closing out the tournament Sunday against Central Michigan. The Razorbacks face Binghamton, Central Michigan and New Mexico for the first time in program history. Along with the web stream, live stats for each game will be available at ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
Redshirt junior Nicole Schroeder and freshman Ashley Diaz, who combined for back-to-back home runs last week against Texas (Feb. 13), are both California natives. Head coach Courtney Deifel is also returning to her home state where she was a national champion and All-American catcher at Cal.
With six hits during last weekend’s Texas Classic, senior Stephanie Canfield has moved into a tie for 11th place on Arkansas’ all-time list with 173 career hits. She is currently tied with former teammate Clarisa Navarro (2012-14). Canfield is three hits shy of reached the program’s top 10. The St. Joseph, Ill., native tallied a pair of triples during the season-opening event in Austin to tie the program record with 12 career triples. Canfield equaled the mark first set by Dayna Huckabee (2005-08).
During its opening weekend of play, Arkansas scored 13 of its 16 runs after the fifth inning. In their come-from-behind win over North Dakota State (Feb. 12), the Razorbacks scored seven runs between the sixth and seventh frames including the game-winning grand slam off the bat of junior Shelby Hiers. The play gained national attention as the No. 3 play on that night’s #SCTop10.
Following the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, the Razorbacks will return to Fayetteville for their home opener Feb. 27-28 at Bogle Park. Arkansas is set to host Drake and UMKC for the 2016 Razorback Invitational, playing each team twice during the weekend tournament. The team’s SEC home opener is scheduled for March 25-27 when it hosts No. 19 Kentucky.
Season tickets are now on sale for $45 through the Razorback Ticket Center. For more information about purchasing season tickets, call 800-982-HOGS (4647) or 479-575-5151, email raztk@uark.edu or visit the Razorback Ticket Center located next to Baum Stadium. For more information about Arkansas softball, follow @RazorbackSB on Twitter.
