FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech softball team kicks off its regular season on Saturday in Pulaski, Tennessee with the Martin Methodist College (MMC) Meltdown. The Warriors will begin the 2016 campaign, the third under head coach Jessica Harris, with Grace and Madonna on Saturday before playing the host Redhawks twice on Sunday.
 
Indiana Tech (0-0, 0-0 WHAC)
 
Saturday, Feb. 13, 10 a.m. vs. Grace (0-0, 0-0 Crossroads) Pulaski, Tennessee (Martin Methodist Softball Facility)
Saturday, Feb. 12, 12 p.m. vs. (RV) Madonna (0-0, 0-0 WHAC) Pulaski, Tennessee (Martin Methodist Softball Facility)
Saturday, Feb. 14, 12 p.m. at Martin Methodist (0-0, 0-0 SSC) Pulaski, Tennessee (Martin Methodist Softball Facility)
Saturday, Feb. 14, 2 p.m. at Martin Methodist (0-0 SSC) Pulaski, Tennessee (Martin Methodist Softball Facility)
 
Following the Warriors: Live stats will be available for the games against Madonna and Martin Methodist with links posted at IndianaTechWarriors.com. Full recaps will be available at IndianaTechWarriors.com following each day of action.
 
Head Coach Jessica Harris: Now in her third year as the head coach of the Indiana Tech softball program, Jessica Harris has amassed 20-48 record in her previous two seasons. During her tenure she has had five student-athletes named to WHAC All-Conference Teams, 12 ladies be named All-Academic Team members, eight Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes and Jamie Kilps was named the A.O. Duer Scholarship Award winner for the WHAC in 2015.
 
Scouting the Opposition: Grace – The Lancers are coming off their second straight trip to the NCCAA World Series and finished with a 32-27 record. Clarissa Knight highlights Grace's offensive returners as the All-American paced the team with a .425 batting average and had 76 hits, 10 doubles, six triples and five home runs with 51 RBIs.
 
Madonna – The Crusaders are receiving 64 votes in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Preseason Poll and return four WHAC All-Conference players from last year's team that made a deep run in the NAIA National Championship: pitcher Erin Combs, catcher Mikey Kish, outfielder Morgan Kaiser and shortstop Nicky Salloum.
 
Martin Methodist – The Redhawks were 27-20 in 2015 and return a big chunk of both their offense and pitching. Brittany Bishop won 11 games and posted a 2.01 ERA while stricking out 49 batters. Courtney Grooms, Nikki Hodges, Taylor Moore, Morgan May and Dharianna Familia combined for 223 of a possible 235 starts a year ago and combined for over half of the team's hits.
 
Series History: Grace – The Warrior are 13-2 since the 2006 season against the Lancers, most recently splitting the last meeting with a 3-2 loss and 4-2 win on April 3, 2013.
 
Madonna – Tech is 7-34 against their WHAC rivals since April 23, 2006, most recently falling in all four matchups a season ago.
 
Martin Methodist – This will be the first matchup on the diamond between the two schools.
 
Where's the Heat?: Teams based in the northern part of the country head south during February and early March to escape the cold and snow, but Mother Nature isn't cooperating for the Warriors right now. Temperatures for this weekend are expected to range anywhere from 19 to 51 in Pulaski. The game-time temperature for first pitch is expected to be right around 31 on Saturday.
 
Looking to Step Up: Junior Hannah Foltz looks to lead the Warriors offense after earning Honorable Mention All-Conference honors as a sophomore. The Dousman, Wisconsin native led the team in average (.328), runs scored (24), RBIs (27), hits (38), doubles (8) and home runs (5). Primarily a first baseman and designated player, she slugged .526 and drew 19 walks for a .440 on-base percentage.
 
Kilping them Down: Senior Jamie Kilps will be Harris' workhorse inside the pitching circle this season again after leading the team in wins with five and threw seven complete games. The New Berlin, Wisconsin native tossed 79.1 innings while racking up 37 strikeouts. She also scored 10 runs and drove in six with 12 hits in 68 at-bats.
 
Poll Thoughts: The Warriors were picked to finish 10^th in the WHAC Coaches' Preseason Poll after finishing 2-16 in conference play a year ago. Defending champion Davenport was picked to repeat while Madonna was selected to finish second.
 
All Around the Diamond: The Orange and Black have players from all over the country, but no state has more than more representatives on the squad. Three states have four each, Indiana, Michigan and California. Wisconsin checks in with three student-athletes while Illinois has two. New York, Virginia and Washington each have one player each.