MONDAY LIVE STATS: HOUGHTON (9 AM) / WAYNESBURG (11:30)
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology softball team opens the 2017 season with a 10-game trip to Florida starting Monday Feb. 27.
The season begins Monday with matchups against Houghton and Waynesburg at the National Training Complex in Clermont. A season ago, the Fightin' Engineers posted a 6-4 mark down in Florida and jumped out to a 9-5 record by the end of March.
Brian Shearer enters his 15th season as head softball coach at Rose-Hulman and has helped establish the Fightin' Engineers as one of the top programs in the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region.
RHIT has several key players returning from last year's team. Third baseman/pitcher Jenny Miller is back for the Fightin' Engineers. The junior ranks No. 2 in school history with 14 career home runs. Last year Miller led the team with a .352 batting average, seven home runs, and 24 runs batted in. On the mound, Miller appeared in 11 contests, made nine starts, and posted a record of 3-4 with an earned run average of 3.78.
Another junior, Jessica Will, will also look to contribute again this season for the Fightin' Engineers. Will batted .327 in 2016 and led the team with 36 hits. The second baseman/outfielder also smacked seven doubles and two homeruns.
Gabbi Markison will be in a Rose-Hulman uniform for a third season. The junior from Marengo, Illinois hit .313 last season. In her first two seasons the outfielder/third baseman has 62 career hits, 18 doubles, and 21 RBIs.
The 2017 edition of Rose-Hulman softball will debut against Houghton on February 27 at 9 a.m. Later that afternoon RHIT will face off against Waynesburg. On the second day of competition in Florida, Rose-Hulman will play York (Pa.) and Capital. The Fightin' Engineers will then play Finlandia and Saint Mary's (Minn.) on Wednesday March 1. On day 4 of competition in Florida, RHIT will face Adrian in the morning and then Concordia-Moorhead in the afternoon. On the final day of the spring trip Rose-Hulman will square off against Milwaukee School of Engineering and Northwestern (Minn.).
