Softball to open 2011 tournament schedule at FSU

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. The Middle Tennessee softball team opens its 2011 pre-season tournament schedule Friday as they travel to Tallahassee, Fla. to compete at the Garnet and Gold Games. Live statistics and audio will be available on GoBlueRaiders.com.

The Garnet and Gold Games will feature a round-robin format where all teams will face off before reseeding for the fourth round of games on Saturday afternoon. The winners of the reseeded games will play Sunday afternoon in a championship game. The losing teams will play in a consolation match prior to the championship.

With teams from Kentucky, Florida State and Georgia Southern, the Blue Raiders will have an excellent opportunity to prepare and tweak as they get ready for the Sun Belt Conference opener next month.

This is the fourth time in Middle Tennessee softball history, the Blue Raiders have traveled to Florida State to compete in a pre-season tournament. MT's first trip to Tallahassee came in 2002 where the team split the six game series, taking wins over Auburn, Winthrop and Southeastern Louisiana. The team returned in 2003 and 2009. Overall the MT holds a 5-9 record when playing at Joan Graf Field.

The Blue Raiders enter the weekend with an overall 1-1 record, coming off a split-doubleheader against the Murray State Racers last Sunday.

After the first weekend, Corrie Abel leads the MT squad with a .625 batting average off five hits. Shorewood, Ill., native also tallied two RBIs and one double. Kaycee Popham's perfect 1.000 slugging percentage is a team-high and her .571 average is second only to Abel. Freshman Nina Dever leads the team with six RBIs.

From the circle, Janele Robinson posted a 2.74 ERA with a team-high 7.2 innings pitched. In the second game of the doubleheader, Robinson posted a career best nine strikeouts. Teammate Caty Jutson also posted a career high in strikeouts last weekend.

Live audio, statistics and coverage of Middle Tennessee softball at the 2011 Garnet and Gold Games will be available on GoBlueRaiders.com and Twitter.com/MT_Softball.

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