Morehead, Ky. – Fourth-year head coach Samantha Jones' Morehead State softball team will open its season this weekend at Louisiana-Monroe's Best on the Bayou Classic.

On Friday, the Eagles will face Louisiana Tech at 1:30 p.m. ET and Evansville at 4 p.m. ET. The squad returns on Saturday for two more contests: 11 a.m. ET vs. Syracuse and 4 p.m. ET against host Louisiana-Monroe. MSU caps off the weekend against former Ohio Valley Conference foe Jacksonville State on Sunday at 10 a.m.

"Our girls are really excited to be (going to) Louisiana … to play against five competitive teams. All five teams we play come from great conferences and are usually at the top of their conferences. They excel on the mound, have power at the plate and are very sound on defense," coach Jones said. "It'll be a great challenge for our team as we go through our preseason games and all of our non-conference opponents. Hopefully, this will give us a great idea of where we stand and things that we need to work on together before we compete against our conference opponents."

The Eagles return 10 letter winners, including eight starting fielders, plus two pitchers from last season's 11-30 squad.

Sophomore pitcher Lennon Spicer was named as a Player to Watch by the OVC. Last season, she batted .265, but she did most of her work in the circle where she threw 157 innings and finished with a 9-19 record, a 4.24 ERA and 79 strikeouts to 69 walks.

Other key returnees include: senior first baseman Alexis Strother (.288 batting average, seven doubles, three home runs, 25 RBI), junior shortstop Kirya Kingery (.270 batting average, 25 runs, five extra-base hits, 12 RBI, 22 stolen bases and a .921 fielding percentage), freshman second baseman Peyton Jordan (.229 batting average, five extra-base hits, 12 runs and nine RBI) and senior catcher/infielder Peyton Slater (.224 BA, eight doubles, 12 RBI and 10 runs).

The Eagles will rely on their speed as a strength. The 67 stolen bases in 2021 were the second-most in team history, the most since swiping 90 in their inaugural season (1989). MSU finished 36th nationally last spring in stolen bases per game at 1.63. Kingery is the top base-stealing threat. She sits 11th on the MSU career stolen base list with 30. Her 22 stolen bases last year were the third most in a season in team history, while her stolen bases per game ratio tied for 43rd in Division I (.550%).

Six newcomers dot this year's roster: sophomore utility player Mayumi Kinchen-Atkins (Homestead, Fla./Bowie State Unv.), freshman outfielder Ieesha Christian (Oklahoma City, Okla./Westmore HS), freshman utility player/pitcher Madi Ogden (Williamsburg, Ohio/Williamsburg HS), freshman right-handed pitcher Bree Sexton (Chattanooga, Tenn./Silverdale Baptist Academy), freshman utility player Ilencia Lightbody (Wentzville, Mo./Timberland HS) and freshman right-handed pitcher Maya Morris (Slinger, Wis./Howard Univ.).

Louisiana Tech is coming off a 22-30 campaign, in which it finished 10-10 in Conference USA. Senior outfielder Madie Green is the team's top returning player, having batted .297 with 22 RBI and four home runs last season. The Bulldogs will likely turn to senior Audrey Pickett (3.66 ERA, 5-11 record, 71 strikeouts) in the circle.

Evansville posted a 23-22 record in the 2021 campaign. The Purple Aces sport a roster with 11 upperclassmen. Preseason all-conference selection senior catcher/first baseman Haley Woolf hit .267 with five homers and 20 RBI last season. Two other returnees, senior infielder Jessica Fehr (.318) and sophomore infielder Marah Wood (.303), both hit over .300 last spring. Wood also clubbed 11 home runs. Senor Izzy Vetter (13-12, 3.03 ERA, 199 strikeouts) is expected to be the top hurler.

Atlantic Coast Conference member Syracuse finished 20-24 last spring. Fifth-year student infielder Neli Casares-Maher is the Orange's top returnee. She batted .341, with six homers and 20 RBI. Junior Kaia Oliver is the leading pitcher back in the fold. She was 7-10 with a 5.51 ERA and 52 strikeouts last season.

Louisiana-Monroe has 13 letter winners back from last spring's 17-32 squad. The Warhawks have 16 underclassmen on their roster. Senior outfielder Korie Kreps earned all-conference honors after batting .324 with 19 extra-base hits and 16 RBI in 2021. Both of last season's primary starting pitchers also return, led by sophomore Gianni Hulett (3.99 ERA, 5-11 record, 56 strikeouts).

Jacksonville State finished 2021 with records of 21-13 and 11-6 in their final season in the OVC. Both of its All-OVC selections and two more of its top five batters have departed, but the Gamecocks will turn to senior infielders Karsen Mosley (.290 batting average, five homers, 25 RBI) and Savannah Sudduth (.266 batting average, 22 runs, seven stolen bases) to replace them. Senior Hannah Brown (4-2 record, 4.00 ERA, 15 strikeouts) is the squad's top returning pitcher.

"We are very familiar with Jacksonville State. They were a member of our conference and always were a very good team that finished near the top of the standings," Jones said. "They will be a great challenge for us and will give us a good indication of potentially how we will stack up against our conference opponents."

All-time, the Eagles are 1-1 versus ULM, 1-2 against Evansville, 0-2 in meetings with Syracuse and 11-35 while playing Jacksonville State (including 5-3 and 1-0 defeats at home last April and a 3-0 victory in the series finale). MSU and La. Tech have never met.

In its only previous trip to the Pelican State, in February 2017, the Eagles went 2-2 at the Lion Classic at Southeastern Louisiana. In that tournament, the Blue and Gold picked up victories over Buffalo (4-0), Alcorn State (17-10), and dropped contests with Texas-Arlington 3-0 and Southeastern Louisiana 4-2.

After this weekend, the Eagles will be back in action at Gardner-Webb's Red and Black Classic. The team will open its home slate on Tuesday, Feb. 22 with a 1 p.m. doubleheader against Shawnee State (Ohio).