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Kamree Lay
Nicholas J. Finch

Softball Nicholas Finch

Softball Opens Season at Gulf Coast Invitational

GULF SHORES, Ala. – On the morning of Jan. 31, the University of West Alabama softball team starts the 2020 season in the Gulf Coast Invitational at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex. 
 
During the event, the Tigers will face five NCAA Division II opponents, two South Region teams and a highly touted National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) squad.
 
UWA faces the Drury Panthers out of the Great Lakes Valley Conference at 10 a.m. Friday to start the tournament and the season. Last year, the Panthers matched a program record in wins while posting a 36-23 record and saw the season end after a 2-2 effort in the GLVC. Drury was picked for a seventh-place finish in the conference this season.
 
Scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. start later on Friday, the Tigers are set to face the Nova Southeastern Sharks out of the Sunshine State Conference. With the contest being a South Region matchup, it'll be an important one early for UWA. The Sharks, picked to finished sixth in the SSC, finished 30-20 last season and will have to replace key members of last year's team.
 
Feb. 1 starts with a game against the Mobile Rams who are ranked #7 in the nation in the NAIA at 11 a.m. The Rams went 52-13 last season and won the Southern States Athletic Conference Championship Tournament on the way to an NAIA World Series appearance. Mobile was picked to repeat as SSAC champions.
 
At 2 p.m., UWA will play Midwestern State for the fourth tournament game. MSU was picked for a 12th place finish in the 17-team Lone Star Conference after finishing seventh last season with a 22-19 overall record.
 
Sunday, Feb. 2 will present two types of challenges for the Tigers starting with the #16 North Georgia Nighthawks at 11 a.m. North Georgia won their sixth consecutive Peach Belt Conference regular-season championship in 2019, the longest streak of titles in PBC softball history. The Nighthawks also won their sixth-straight PBC Tournament title, also the longest run ever in the PBC. UNG finished 2019 with a 45-13 record and hosted NCAA Tournament play for the sixth year in a row. The team was picked to repeat as PBC champions.
 
UWA wraps the tournament at 2 p.m. Sunday against the Rollins College Tars. A second SSC school and region opponent, RC was picked to finish first in the conference after finishing third last season and posting a 38-11 record. 
 
West Alabama went 30-23 overall and 15-13 in league play last season which helped the team qualify for the GSC Championship Tournament for the first time in five seasons and marked the 18th appearance overall for the program. UWA went 2-2 in the tournament with wins over #4 Valdosta State and #2 Alabama Huntsville.
 
The Tigers return their top eight hitters including All-GSC Second Team selections Kierra Hague and Grace Self.
 
Links to video and live stats for all six games this weekend are available on uwaathletics.com.
 
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Players Mentioned

Kierra Hague

#2 Kierra Hague

OF/C
5' 8"
Senior
R/R
Grace Self

#10 Grace Self

3B/1B
5' 7"
Sophomore
R/R

Players Mentioned

Kierra Hague

#2 Kierra Hague

5' 8"
Senior
R/R
OF/C
Grace Self

#10 Grace Self

5' 7"
Sophomore
R/R
3B/1B