At The Plate: The University of Mary Softball team makes a return trip to Clermont, Fla., to compete in the 2016 Dot Richardson Spring Games. The Marauders will face nine teams ranging from Division II opponents to NAIA squads as they continue to search for their first win of the year. The first game is scheduled for 10 AM CDT, on Monday, February 29 against Saint Anselm College and will follow up with a contest against Notre Dame College (Ohio) starting at 12 PM CDT.

For The Record: U-Mary stumbled out of the gate for an 0-5 record after dropping a trio of two-run games at the 2016 Desert Stinger to Azusa Pacific University, the University of Nebraska-Kearney, and Concordia University-Irvine. Davenport University has the best record among U-Mary's opponents as they are 5-2 on the year, while Grace College has the second most games on their record with a 2-4 mark so far. Notre Dame College carries a 1-2 record, the University of Findlay, whom the Marauders faced in last year's games, is 2-2 on the year, Saint Anselm College sits at 1-1, while Lourdes University and Alma College are searching for their first win at 0-2 apeice. This will be the first action of the year for both Quincy University and Bloomfield College as Bloomfield had a quartet of games cancelled over the weekend and Quincy opens up their season in Clermont.

In The Past: The Marauders visited the sunshine state for two weeks during the 2015 regular season and racked up a 9-11 record on the trip as they competed in 20 games. U-Mary lost their first four games of the trip with each game decided by less than two runs and finally found the winning combination with three wins starting with Walsh University, followed by Southern Wesleyan University, and Post University. The Marauders lost four of their next five with their lone win come against the College of Saint Rose, but closed out their trip on a 5-3 mark with wins against Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Merrimack College, Ohio Dominican University, West Liberty University, and Kutztown University.

Last One Up: U-Mary dropped their opening game to Azusa Pacific on a walk-off hit in the bottom of the seventh inning, failed to get the offense going in the contest against California State University-Dominguez Hills, dropped a 12-11 decision to Nebraska-Kearney, stuggled with one of the top teams in the nation against California State University-Monterey Bay, and closed out the trip with a tough loss to Concordia-Irvine as Taylor Mendez, Shawnee Zink, and Alana Norman anchored the batting lineup.

On Deck: The Marauders will have another two-week break before paying a visit to St. Joseph, Mo., to compete in the Missouri Western State University Regional Crossover on March 18. U-Mary will take on host school Missouri Western to start the trip and will follow up with contests agaisnt the University of Central Missouri, Missouri Southern State University, PIttsburg State University, Washburn University, and the University of Central Oklahoma.

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