Softball Begins Play In Texas Classic Today

Austin, Texas (2/16/07) The North Texas softball team heads to Austin this weekend for its second straight week of tournament play in the Texas Classic. The Mean Green will play Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and No. 10/11 Texas on Friday and face San Diego State on Saturday.

The Mean Green (2-3) opened its season with a win against Colorado State at the Las Cruces Invitational. Two of NT’s losses were decided by one run (7-6 and 8-7). Through five games, North Texas is tied for its best start in the four-year history of the program.

In my opinion, we played better then our records shows,” said head coach Kelly Burns. “We hit very well. Susan Waters came back with a .625 batting average for the weekend. As I hoped, they are hitting as they did in the fall, which is going to be key this season.”

North Texas had its home opener canceled on Wednesday, Feb. 14 due to inclement weather. The Mean Green will try again on Wednesday, Feb. 21 when it faces Nicholls State in a doubleheader, beginning at 1 pm. The Mean Green is playing in a new stadium, Lovelace Stadium, located in the Mean Green Village.

Kristina Fowler and Susan Waters were named to the all-tournament team last weekend. Both players hit over .400 and combined for 16 of NT’s 40 hits in the tournament. Waters, a preseason All-Sun Belt pick, posted three home runs in 16 at-bats.

“We are getting the job done at the plate,” said Burns. “We have to do a better job at preventing runs. We hit four home runs but gave up four home runs.”

As a team, the Mean Green recorded four home runs in the five games. Junior Taylor Johnston hit a three-run homer in the win against Sam Houston. North Texas also gave up four home runs; all against Colorado State. In the 8-7 loss to CSU, NT gave up one home run in the fourth inning and three in the sixth inning.

In the first three games, North Texas started three different pitchers. Newcomers Ashley Lail and Kayla Lawson both picked up their first victories of the season in the circle.

“It’s nice to have a staff and to have pitchers you can go to when someone get in trouble,” said Burns.

Newcomers Kyleigh Callender, Rebecca Waters and Sierra Scott started their first games in the Mean Green’s season opener. Waters posted four hits and knocked in three RBI in the three-day tournament.

“The biggest surprise was Rebecca Waters,” said Burns. We used her as a designated player. She hit very well. She hit .267 this past weekend, and I think that’s only going to get better.”

The Mean Green opens the Texas Classic with a noon game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. NT swept the series against the Islanders last year, tying the series record at 2-2. The Mean Green tied season highs in the 10-2 victory last year with 10 runs, 12 hits and 10 RBI. Seven of the 12 hits were for extra bases, including home runs by Susan Waters and Heather Bostic.

North Texas is 0-4 against nationally-ranked Texas. The Mean Green went 0-for-10 last year against ranked opponents, including two losses to the Longhorns. After posting a 4-1 record and knocking off then No. 3 UCLA and No. 8/9 Stanford last weekend at the Kajikawa Classic, Texas moved up seven spots to No. 11 in the latest release (Feb. 13) of the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.

On Saturday, the Mean Green faces San Diego State at 11 am. North Texas is 0-1 with SDS after a 1-0 loss during the inaugural 2004 season. In that game, North Texas left six runners stranded on base and outhit San Diego State, 7-3. Katy Maxey allowed only two hits in seven innings of work. San Diego State scored one unearned run in the top of the fifth inning to earn the victory. Stephanie Cranmer posted three hits in the loss.

The Mean Green will begin bracket play on Saturday night and finish with a final game on Sunday.

Calendar

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Players Mentioned

Heather Bostic

Kyleigh Callender

Kristina Fowler

Taylor Johnston

Ashley Lail

Kayla Lawson

Sierra Scott

Rebecca Waters

Susan Waters

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University of North Texas Athletics