Softball Travels to Chattanooga for Frost Classic
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Belmont (0-7) will travel to Chattanooga, Tenn., for the UTC Frost Classic Inspired by Memorial. The tournament will begin on Friday and conclude Sunday afternoon. The Bruins will play five games over the weekend, facing Purdue, Ball State, Tennessee Tech, Dayton and Valparaiso.
Belmont has struggled at the start of the season, falling in two games last weekend at Ole Miss. The Bruins will be looking to pick up their first win, but will once again face some tough big-conference competition. Belmont opens play in the tournament with Big Ten opponent Purdue at 12:15 p.m. on Friday. The Bruins will then face Ball State at 2:30 p.m. Ball State won the meeting between the two teams last season, 0-8, in five innings. Saturday will start early for Belmont with a 10 a.m. game against Tennessee Tech out of the Ohio Valley Conference. The Bruins are 2-24 all-time against the Golden Eagles, who will become regular conference foes with Belmont moves to the OVC next season. The second game on Saturday will feature Belmont and Dayton at 12:15 p.m. The Bruins trail 1-2 in the series with Dayton after splitting the last meeting between the two teams back in 2005. Belmont will close out play in the Frost Classic with an early Sunday morning game against Valparaiso at 10 a.m. The Bruins lead the series with Valpo, 1-0, after taking the only meeting between the two teams back in 2003.
While the Bruins have struggled offensively so far this season, one bright spot for the team has been the play of freshman Kirbie Ferrell. Ferrell has provided Belmont with a true lead-off hitter and been its most consistent producer with nine hits in 22 at bats, including one run and three RBIs. She is 4-5 in stolen bases this season and leads the team with a .409 batting average. As a team, the Bruins have gone 14-16 in stolen bases, ranking them among the most team stolen bases in the A-Sun conference. Belmont has been more aggressive so far this season, thanks to increased team speed with the addition of five freshmen, but the Bruins have struggled to turn baserunners and hits into runs, something the team will certainly look to turn around during play this weekend.
Links to livestats for all Belmont games are posted at www.belmontbruins.com. Fans can also find more information about the Frost Classic at www.gomocs.com by clicking on the softball team page and following the 2012 Frost Classic link. Video of the games will be availble through Moc Vision, a pay-per-view service. All tournament schedule information, full game recaps, box scores and updated statistics will be available all weekend long at www.belmontbruins.com. Fans can also follow the team on Twitter by searching @BelmontSoftball.
