HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky softball will take on a pair of Big Sky opponents in the UCR Tournament in Riverside, California, to close out the preseason tournament slate. NKU kicks off the tournament on Friday, March 15 at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET, against Southern Utah, followed by an 11:30 a.m. PT/2:30 p.m. ET tilt with Idaho State. The Norse then face Idaho State once more at 11:30 a.m. PT/2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 16, followed by a rematch against Southern Utah at 2 p.m. PT/5 ET. The tournament concludes at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 17, with a third meeting against Idaho State.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Norse fell to UMass Lowell in a neutral-site single game on Tuesday afternoon by a final score of 6-4. Kailey Rossiter went 3-for-4 at the plate and drove in a run while scoring one of her own, and Madi Mulder drove in a pair of runs off a 2-for-3 effort at the dish.
 
SCOUTING SOUTHERN UTAH: The Thunderbirds hold a 1-13 record, with their lone win coming against North Dakota on Feb. 9. Freshman Dream Weaver has been leading the team at the plate with a .333 batting average off 15 hits, while Madison Tuft has also clubbed 15 hits for a .319 batting average. Mikelle Magalogo has provided power at the plate with eight runs driven in off eight hits, three of which were home runs. In the circle, the Thunderbirds spread the innings out between a core group of three pitchers. Hanna Wynn holds a 5.07 ERA for the lowest on the team, followed by Sydni Sorenson at 6.44. Hannah Lilly has appeared in seven contests with five starts, but holds a 13.89 ERA. Nicole Wall picked up the team's only win of the season and has spent 4.0 innings in the circle in four appearances. The Thunderbirds' pitching staff struggles with striking out batters while surrendering walks, with just 23 strikeouts to 65 batters walked on the year.
 
SCOUTING IDAHO STATE: The Bengals sit at 6-13, most recently coming off a pair of shutout losses to No. 5 Washington. Emma Bordenkecher has been impactful at the plate, driving in 11 runs off 17 hits while scoring six of her own. Haley Harrison had a strong opening week for Idaho State, batting .412 with seven hits, but has not appeared in the lineup since Feb. 10. Autumn Pease and Mariah Mulcahy split the majority of the time in the circle, with Pease boasting a 4-0 record and a 1.81 ERA. The rookie hurler has struck out 30 batters and walked 15 in 38.2 innings of work, while Mulcahy has fanned 24 and walked 10 in 37.1 innings pitched.