FIRST PITCH
Hofstra is through the first two tournaments of the season and will next travel to Lynchburg, Va. For the Liberty Spring Classic taking place from February 28 to March 1. Hofstra is coming off a trip to Florida for the FAU Strike Out Cancer Tournament where the Pride went 1-2 on the weekend. At the Liberty Spring Classic, the Pride will play five games against five different opponents, including Butler, Yale, Liberty, UPenn and Fairfield. All games will take place at Kamphius Field at Liberty Softball Stadium.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE (REVISED)
Friday, February 28:
Hofstra (V) vs. Butler (H) – 9 a.m.
Hofstra (H) vs. Yale (A) – 11 a.m.

Saturday, February 29:
Hofstra (H) vs. Penn (V) – 1 p.m.
Hofstra (V) vs. Liberty (H) – 3 p.m.

Sunday, March 1:
Hofstra (V) vs. East Carolina (H) – 11 a.m.

HOW TO WATCH
Live statistics will be available for all five games. There will be no live video this weekend provided by Liberty. The link to watch live stats is available at the top of this release and on the Hofstra Softball schedule page on gohofstra.com.

ABOUT THE HOFSTRA PRIDE (2-6)
Hofstra is heading into its trip to Liberty coming off a 1-2 record at the FAU Strike Out Cancer Tournament last weekend. Across those three games, sophomore Madison McKevitt was one of Hofstra's top hitters with a .571 batting average (4-for-7) while sophomore Jaycee Ruberti, senior Alexis Goeke and sophomore Kasey Collins all recorded three hits. Freshman Lindsey Hay led the team with four RBI including a three-run home run against FAU.
On the season, McKevitt is leading the team with a .333 batting average, while Collins is hitting.304 with a team-high seven hits. Hay has five RBI this season to lead Hofstra as well.
 
Sophomore Madison Burns and freshman Nikki Mullin have done a bulk of the work inside the circle, combining for 41 of Hofstra's 47 innings. Burns has fanned 12 batters to lead the staff while both pitchers have fired two complete games.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
 
Butler Bulldogs (8-3, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Butler played at the Madeira Beach Spring Games last weekend and posted a 4-2 mark at the event. This season, Lauren fey leads the team with a .452 batting average, while Loren Simpson and Karli Rickets have 11 RBI each to lead the squad. Inside the circle, the Bulldogs have used a staff of four pitchers led by Mackenzie Griman who has a staff-high 1.14 ERA, although the two main pitchers for the Bulldogs are Karli Ricketts (2.10 ERA, 45 K's) and Alyssa Graves (3.33 ERA, 32 K's)
 
Yale Bulldogs (2-3, 0-0 Ivy)
The Yale Bulldogs are coming off their first weekend of competition at the Silicon Valley Classic. During the first weekend, Sydney Grobman emerged as the top hitter as she recorded seven hits for a .412 batting average and team-high four RBI. Annie Tarte is hitting .375 so far and is the only Yale player with a batting average over .300. Four pitchers have seen time inside the circle for the Bulldogs, led by Nic Conway who has pitched 12.0 innings for a team-best 1.17 ERA and 13 strikeouts.
 
Liberty Flames (3-11, 0-0 ASUN)
Though Liberty only has three wins under their belts this season, the Flames have faced 10 top-25 teams, seven of which were in the top-10, emerging victorious only against No. 21 Ole Miss and No. 6 Michigan. Kara Canetto leads the team with a .357 batting average, while Amber Biship (.365) follows with 16 hits and nine RBI, both team highs. Karlie Keeney leads a staff of four pitchers with a 3.43 ERA through 51.0 innings pitched with 30 strikeouts.
 
Penn Quakers (0-0, 0-0 Ivy)
Penn is the only team that Hofstra will face this weekend that has not played yet in 2020. Last season, Penn posted a 22-17 record while going 13-8 in league play. The Quakers, picked second in the Ivy League preseason poll, return nearly their entire lineup from last season including Ivy League Rookie of the Year and First Team pick, Emma Nedley as well as two more first team All-Ivy players including Jennifer Brann and Kayla Ketring.

East Carolina (8-5, 0-0 American)
ECU is coming off a 3-0 record at the Pirate Invitational this past weekend. Ashleigh Inae leads the team with a .412 batting average, while Chandley Garner has 12 RBI to pace the Pirates. Four different pitchers have seen a substantial amount of time inside the circle. Erin Poepping leads the staff with a 1.37 ERA through 15.1 innings pitched while Logyn Estes (1.57 ERA), Whitney Sanford (3.44 ERA) and Kama Woodall (4.96 ERA) all have all pitched over 20 innings. Estes has 16 strikeouts to lead the Pirates.

UP NEXT
Following the Liberty Spring Classic, Hofstra will head back down to Virginia for the Mason Invitational in Fairfax from March 6-8. Hofstra will play four games including contests against Canisius, Buffalo, Cornell, and the host, George Mason.