Amid a long, cold winter, UConn Softball is back.
This weekend, the UConn softball team will travel south to sunny Elon, N.C. to kick off its season in the Elon Softball Classic. Temperatures are expected to be in the 60s and 70s all weekend, which is the perfect weather for some opening weekend softball.
Throughout Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the Huskies will play four games. Friday will feature a doubleheader against Ohio University and the host team, Elon. The next day, the Huskies will square off against UNC Greensboro, followed by a mid-day matchup with Ohio State on Sunday. All games will feature various teams from different conferences, which is crucial in seeing how the Huskies stack up against quality competition from across the country.
It’s no joke that the UConn softball fanbase has much to look forward to in this 2025 Huskies squad. The Huskies return the reigning 2024 Big East Player of the Year, senior outfielder Lexi Hastings. In her 2024 All-Big East First Team season, Hastings slashed an impressive .392 batting average, tallying 69 hits, 47 runs and a whopping 31 stolen bases. It’s also worth mentioning that Hastings totaled 25 multi-hit games. Having a fiery bat like hers in the lineup will be critical for the team’s success this spring.
If things couldn’t get any better for Head Coach Laura Valentino’s team, Hastings’ 2024 All-Big East First Team counterpart Rosie Garcia will be returning. The senior infielder from San Fernando, California compiled a .302 batting average with a team-high 10 home runs with 37 RBIs. Combined with Hastings’ consistent bat and Garcia’s power bat, the Huskies’ lineup will surely do some damage at the plate this weekend.
Not to mention, the Huskies have a ton of depth in the circle as well, headlined by the return of graduate student Payton Kinney. Last spring, Kinney led the Huskies’ bullpen with an impressive 2.33 ERA, striking out 113 batters in 99 innings of work and was named to the All-Big East Second Team. She also reached an amazing career milestone by striking out her 300th batter. Keep an eye out for her to get some quality innings in throughout the weekend.
This Huskies’ team is also loaded with young talent, with a strong freshman class that looks to make an impact right away. Husky fans should stay alert for freshmen Bella Cruz, Stella Kiemele, Cat Petteys, Heidi Barber and Amber Bretton to make their respective debuts this season.
On the other hand, the Huskies are sure to face a whole new field of talented players and teams that they’ve never seen before in the Big East. Ohio University is ranked the number one team in the MAC preseason poll, highlighted by the return of First Team All-MAC pitcher Skipp Miller, who led the 2024 Bobcats with a 2.69 ERA, 119 strikeouts, 17 wins and 4 saves.
UNC Greensboro returns SoCon All-Conference Second Team and All-Freshman catcher Betsy Eatmon, who had a stellar freshman season for the Spartans, holding a .320 average with an impressive eight home runs.
Although the Elon Phoenix struggled last season with a 23-29 record, they did hoist a solid 15-9 home record. On top of that, they also landed four players on the Preseason All-CAA Team with Gabi Schaal, Mauri Murray, McKenna McCard and Allee Seering.
The Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big 10 are returning after a very solid 31-20 campaign from the previous year with a ton to look forward to. Freshman pitcher Lorin Boutte was named to the D1 Softball Freshman Watchlist and is going to have an insurmountable impact for the Buckeyes in the ring.
With that being said, this weekend will be a tremendous opening weekend test for the Huskies, loaded with talent drawn from across the country. The Huskies open their season on Friday at 9:30 a.m. against Ohio University, followed by Elon at 2:30 p.m. Their game on Saturday versus UNC Greensboro will be played at noon, followed by a finale with Ohio State also at noon the next day. All games will be played at Elon University’s Hunt Softball Park.