TROY, Ala. (February 8, 2024) – Softball season is officially upon us, as the University of North Alabama will open the 2024 season at the Trojan Invitational this weekend hosted by Troy. The Lions will play five games against Samford, UT Martin and Troy beginning with Samford on Friday at noon.
Both games against Troy will be streamed on ESPN+, while all five games will have live stats via StatBroadcast.
UNA has 52 games on this year's schedule, including non-conference tournaments at Troy, Chattanooga, UAB and MTSU. The Lions will also host the UNA Invitational this season on March 8-10 in Florence, welcoming the likes of Southern Miss, Murray State, Maryland Eastern Shore and Detroit Mercy.
"I am very excited about our schedule this year," said UNA head coach
Ashley Cozart, who enters her 11th season. "It will be one of the most challenging, but one of the most exciting and will prepare us well for ASUN play. We have four strong tournaments to lead us off this year. Starting off at Troy and then we will play in the Chattanooga, UAB and MTSU tournaments. Also, we will host our own tournament with some great teams right here in Florence."
GAME 1
North Alabama vs. Samford
Friday, February 9, 2024
Noon
Live Stats
GAME 2
North Alabama at Troy
Friday, February 9, 2024
6 p.m.
ESPN + |
Live Stats
GAME 3
North Alabama vs. UT Martin
Saturday, February 10, 2024
9 a.m.
Live Stats
GAME 4
North Alabama vs. Samford
Saturday, February 10, 2024
Noon
Live Stats
GAME 5
North Alabama at Troy
Sunday, February 11, 2024
11 a.m.
ESPN + |
Live Stats
NOTES
ABOUT LAST SEASON: North Alabama went on a magical run last season, finishing with a 34-17-1 overall record and a runner-up finish at the 2023 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship. The Lions won four straight games to make the ASUN championship final before falling to eventual champion Central Arkansas in the final two games.
SCOUTING THE LIONS: UNA has a roster of 26 players, including 13 newcomers and 13 returning players. Of the 13 returners, six are returning starters from last season's lineup. The returning starters includes the entire outfield of senior trio
Felicity Frame,
Sidney Bevis and McKenzie Patterson who combined for 156 hits last season. Frame led the ASUN with a .383 batting average and led the Lions with 72 hits and 37 runs. Middle infielders
Haven Kirby and
Hailey Jones are also back as upperclassmen after combining for 10 homers and 60 RBIs. The Lions return two pitchers with experience in seniors
Hannah Embry and
Mariyn Waterman and will add five more to the mix in 2024.
PRESEASON POLLS: The ASUN announced its preseason information for softball last Wednesday, as North Alabama landed its highest preseason ranking of the Division I era in third place behind Central Arkansas and FGCU. Jones represented the Lions on the preseason all-conference team as an infielder.
SWITCHING ROLES: Perhaps UNA's biggest loss on the field from last season will turn into one of its biggest assets in the clubhouse, as former all-conference catcher
Georgia Land will join the coaching staff in 2024. Last season, Land hit .341 from the catcher position with nine home runs, 31 RBI and 47 hits.
INCOMING TALENT: Of the 13 newcomers on the UNA roster, eight come from the junior college level and three are true freshman. The other two are redshirt freshmen from other NCAA Division I schools, including pitchers
Kyleigh Pitzer from the University of Louisiana and
Lilian Berry from Penn State. Three of the newcomers are listed as utility players.
THE DREAM TEAM: Cozart enters her 11th season coaching the Lions and has a record of 351-155-1 over her first decade at UNA. In 14 total seasons of coaching, Cozart has a career record of 542-200-1 for a win percentage of 73 percent. Cozart is assisted by
Whitney Hawkins in her second stint at UNA, as well as former UNA standout
Hannah Shollenberger. Hawkins was assisting Cozart during the historic 2016 season when UNA won the NCAA Division II national championship with a 60-7 overall record.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: UNA's first opponent of the season is in-state foe Samford, who finished last season 26-31 overall and 12-6 in the Southern Conference. Like the Lions, the Bulldogs made a magical run in last year's conference tournament before falling to UNCG in the SoCon Championship Final. Samford is picked to finish second in the SoCon this season led by reigning SoCon Pitcher of the Year McKenzie Newcomb and preseason selections Sarah Squillace, Logan Champion and McKayla Cothran.
SERIES HISTORY VS. SAMFORD: The Lions and Bulldogs will meet for the 10th time on Friday. UNA has historically dominated the series with an 8-1 record, including two wins in 1988 and six more wins in the Division I era. UNA won last season's meeting in Birmingham by a 2-1 final behind an RBI double from Jones to score Frame and a go-ahead sacrifice fly by local product
Taylor Brown.
SCOUTING THE TROJANS: UNA's second opponent is tournament host Troy, who finished 33-19-1 last season with a 14-9-1 record in the Sun Belt. The Trojans are anchored by 2023 second team all-conference selection Taylor McKinney at second base, who led the team with a .349 batting average, 12 homers and 51 RBI. Also returning is outfielder Jade Sinness, who has a .312 career batting average and 25 career homers. Two-way player Libby Baker adds spice to Troy's pitching rotation and lineup at first base as a second team all-conference seletion last season.
SERIES HISTORY VS. TROY: The Lions and Trojans have played six times previously, as UNA owns the 4-2 edge in the all-time series. Five of the six meetings happened in the Division II era, while the other took place in 2019 and resulted in a 2-0 win for Troy. Prior to 2019, the last meeting occurred in 1991, where UNA picked up a 10-2 win in Florence.
SCOUTING THE SKYHAWKS: UNA will have one game with UT Martin in the tournament but will also see the Skyhawks later on April 24 for the final non-conference tilt of the regular season. UT Martin boasts a roster with 10 seniors in 2024 and is predicted to finish third in the OVC. Additionally, senior outfielder Kaci Fuller has been tabbed as one of the league's top performers as an OVC Softball Player to Watch. The Skyhawks finished 23-24 overall last season with a 13-10 record in league play.
SERIES HISTORY VS. UT MARTIN: UNA and UTM have played each other 37 times, dating all the way back to UNA's first fast pitch season in 1986. The two sides have only met one time since the Lions joined the Division I ranks in 2019, as the Lions won 3-2 in Montgomery behind a go-ahead RBI single from Mackenzie Roberts and a win in relief by Megan Garst. The last meetings prior to that date back to 1997, as UT Martin leads the series with a 22-15 record.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
