Johnson City, TN- The Mercyhurst Softball Team is traveling to Eastern Tennessee for their Spring Break trip. They will face East Tennessee State University, Marist University, and St. Bonaventure University over the course of four days. After a couple weeks off, this tournament is sure to build some momentum as the season continues to ramp up. 

Lakers Early Form
Mercyhurst is currently 0-2 on the season. Their trip to Norfolk, Virginia a few weeks ago was cut short due to inclement weather. However, the team saw some sparks on the offensive front. A strong outing from Mackenzie Gillis, including several hits and a pair of RBIs, led to her being named the NEC Rookie of the Week. 

Scouting the Buccaneers
East Tennessee State University is currently 4-12 this season. The Bucs are coming off of a few losses to St. John's University and Kennesaw State University. Senior infielder Cameron Young will be a key player for the Bucs this weekend. The native of Knoxville, Tennessee currently has a .426 batting average and a 1.019 OPS. 

Scouting the Red Foxes 
Marist University just transitioned from college to university on January 29th, 2025. Their softball team has already played 19 games heading into this weekend. The Red Foxes are currently 14-5 this season. They are coming off of successful weekend at the Coach Cooke Memorial Tournament in South Carolina. Here, they went 4-1 on the weekend, shutting out St. Bonaventure University, Southern Indiana, and the University of Charlotte. Marist has plenty of fire power regarding offensive play as six players already have 10 or more RBIs. They may look to graduate student Miah McDonald for slugging as she has 30 hits, 27 runs, and 21 RBIs this season. 

Scouting the Bonnies 
St. Bonaventure University holds an overall record of 3-6. Their last two outings were tough matchups against Winthrop University and Marist University where they were run-ruled in both. The Bonnies may look to senior utility Karena Recrosio or sophomore utility Kymore Wang in the batting order. Recrosio has a .467 batting average featuring 14 hits and six runs. Wang has a batting average of .414 including 12 hits, seven RBIs, and seven runs. 
 
First Pitch Dates, Times, and Where to Follow
Mercyhurst's first game of their trip will be on Thursday, March 6th at 5:00 PM against ETSU. The rest of the games and live stats links can be found on the Hurst Athletics website, opposing team's websites, or @hurstsoftball on social media. 

*All games and times are subject to change due to potential weather in the area.