Spring is in the Air: The University of Mary softball team opens their 2014 season with a trip to Las Vegas, Nev. to participate in the Montana State University Billings Desert Stinger tournament Feb. 7-9. U-Mary will play five games over three days at the MSUB Desert Stinger.
 
Follow Along: All five of the games will have live stats provided courtesy of MSUB. Fans can find the links to the games at goumary.com/coverage.
 
MSUB Desert Stinger: The tournament is the largest NCAA Division II softball tournament hosted by a single institution, and it returns to Las Vegas for the fifth time. MSUB welcomes 31 other DII programs to Majestic Park for the tournament.
 
"We are honored to host this tournament as it is great for our institution, conference, and Division II Softball," MSUB Athletic Director Krista Montague said. "We are proud to have set a stage to give DII institutions an opportunity to pick up competitive non-conference games with little difficulty. We all know how important playing against strong competition outside of our conferences is when it comes to NCAA post-season selections." 
 
About the Field: Thirty-two teams from eight conferences will compete in this year's tournament. Six schools that appeared in the preseason 2014 national rankings are in this year's tournament: No. 1 Central Oklahoma, No. 4 Humboldt State, No. 8 West Texas A&M, No. 14 Texas Woman's, No. 22 Augustana (S.D.) and No. 23 Dixie State. Also, receiving votes and playing in the tournament are: St. Mary's (TX), Cal State Dominguez Hills, and Hawai'i Hilo. The tournament field also features six teams that were conference champions last season.
 
History of the Tournament: In 2010, the first year it began, the tournament started with 16 teams on four fields, then it grew by eight the second, four the third, and then four more this year, giving a grand total of 32 teams playing 80 games on eight fields. MSU Billings, U-Mary, Dixie State, New Mexico Highlands, Fort Lewis, and Chadron State are the only six teams that have played in the tournament since it began.
 
Last Year: One of two teams with a perfect 5-0 record, U-Mary finished in second place with the tiebreaker going to West Texas A&M. Key to the Marauders success last year was the performances of Brittney Hadley and senior Cherlyn Trujillo. Both Hadley and Trujillo were named to the all-tournament 2nd team. Hadley, hit .533 with 12 runs batted. Behind four home runs, the sophomore designated hitter finished with a 1.400 slugging percentage. The Marauders' opening day starter, Trujillo had her hand in four of U-Mary's five wins. The junior college transfer was 3-0 with a save. Trujillo struck out 14 in 17.2 innings and allowed opponents to hit just .162.
 
The Schedule
 

2/7/14	Northwest Nazarene University	Las Vegas, NV	4 p.m.
2/7/14	Simon Fraser University (B.C.)	Las Vegas, NV	6:30 p.m.
2/8/14	Notre Dame de Namur University	Las Vegas, NV	1:30 p.m.
2/8/14	University of Central Oklahoma	Las Vegas, NV	4 p.m.
2/9/14	California State University, San Bernardino	Las Vegas, NV	4 p.m.

All time based on Central Time Zone
  
The Opponents
 
Northwest Nazarene: The Crusaders were just 5-39 (0-24 GNAC) last season and have been picked to finish last in the GNAC. However, NNU retained several key players and added a talented recruiting class. The Crusaders have played four games this season and have already picked up three wins.
 
Simon Fraser: SFU finished last season 30-23 (12-8 GNAC) and has finished in second place in the GNAC each of the past seasons. The Clan return just five starters and have been tabbed to finish fourth in the GNAC. The Clan have yet to play a game this season.
 
Notre Dame de Namur: Notre Dame went 34-18 last season (23-9 PacWest). Finishing in third place in the PacWest a year ago, the Argonauts are slatted to finish fifth this season. Notre Dame fell 4-3, 5-1 in a double header against No. 4 Humboldt State in its only competition of the season.
 
Central Oklahoma: The Broncos picked up all 16 first-place votes for the 2014 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II Preseason Poll. UCO returns eight starters off last year's Division II national championship team. The Broncos have not played yet this season.
Cal State, San Bernadino: The Coyotes were just 18-36 (12-24 CCAA) in 2013. Finishing eighth in the CCAA a year ago, CSSB is picked to finish seventh this season. The Coyotes swept a doubleheader against GNAC-favorite Saint Martin's in their only action of the season.
 
POY: Cherlyn Trujillo found herself among the leaders in the Northern Sun in several statistical categories in her first year with the Marauders last season. As a result, Trujillo was named NSIC Newcomer of the Year. With Trujillo poised to build off of last season's success, she has been named NSIC Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
 
What the Coaches Say: U-Mary finished the 2013 season winning six of their last seven to earn their way into the Northern Sun Tournament for the fourth consecutive season. The Marauders finished in ninth place last year out of 16 teams. With 113 points U-Mary has been tabbed to finish there again in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
Coaching Debut: Named head coach just five months ago, All-American KJ Kelley will get her first chance to call the shots for the Marauders on Friday. A native of Rainier, Ore., Kelley joins U-Mary after four years as the assistant coach at Toledo and one year as an assistant at Vermont. Kelley began her coaching career at her alma mater, serving on the staff for one season at the UMass under hall of fame coach Elaine Sortino.
 
Filling Holes: The Marauders have a couple of holes to fill as they lost two major contributors from a year ago in Jessica Alvarado and Brittney Hadley. Alvarado hit .326  and reached base at a .409 average, while not committing a single error in center field. Hadley provided pop in U-Mary's lineup hitting eight homeruns and driving in 37 runs, while hitting .308.
 
Fresh Faces: The Marauders have added four new faces to this year's roster in infielders Francine Villabos and Alexa Hubbard, pitcher MeLanie Rodriguez and catcher Amber Gamboa to help fill those holes.
 
Senior Leadership: U-Mary is led by senior captains Cherlyn Trujillo and Allison Brown. Named NSIC Preseason Pitcher of the Year, Trujillo will anchor the Marauders pitching staff. With 26 homeruns and a career .355 batting average, Brown is U-Mary's top returning hitter.
 
Returners: Aside from the two seniors, U-Mary returns five other starters. Alana Norman, Demaree Rodriguez, Erin Keen, Julissa Perales and Kristin Ormsby all played significant roles last season and will look to do so again this year.
 
Up Next: The Marauders will not compete again until Feb. 23 when they head to West St. Paul, Minn. to participate in the Minnesota Duluth Invitational. U-Mary will play five games in two days, including a meeting with NSIC foe Minot State University.
 
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