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A new season for Syracuse Orange softball begins today as the team opens 2016 play in the Sportco Kick Off Classic in Las Vegas.
The Syracuse softball team kicks off the 2016 season this weekend at the Sportco Kick Off Classic in Las Vegas, Nev. The first pitch of is set for Friday, Feb. 12 at 1:30 p.m. against Long Beach State. The matchup is the first of two on Friday as the Orange will finish with Lamar at 3:45 p.m.
Syracuse will wrap up the Sportco Kick Off Classic against No. 9 Oklahoma and the host UNLV on Saturday, Feb. 13. Game times are set for 3:45 p.m. and 6 p.m. All times are Pacific.
You won't be able to watch most of the games but live stats will be available via Sidearm Sports. You may be able to watch Saturday's game vs. UNLV here.
The Orange are beginning the post-Leigh Ross Era and they'll look to assistant-coach-elevated-to-head-coach Mike Bosch for leadership. They want to improve on last year's 20-26 (4-13) record and a hot start here could be a big boost.
Long Beach State is a familiar opponent as the two have met five times in the last fours years. It's the first meeting between SU and Lamar in school history. Oklahoma will present SU with their first ranked opponent of the year (No. 9). Finally, it's the first meeting between SU and UNLV since 2003.
Some names to keep an eye on for SU this season include All-ACC honorees Corinne Ozanne and Maddi Doane as well as Sydney O'Hara and Sammy Fernandez. All four of them batted .300 or better last year. On the mound, Jocelyn Cater had a team-best 3.79 ERA last year and finished 26th in the nation in strikeouts with 236. O'Hara also features as a dependable pitcher for the squad.