Nashville, TN (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – The Green Bay Phoenix softball team will make the trek to Music City for the Bruin Challenge this weekend. This marks the second tournament of the year for the Phoenix and their opponents for the invitational are Marist, Belmont, and Western Michigan.
 
Most Recently for the Phoenix – Green Bay wrapped up their first games of the year with a 1-4 record at the Rambler Rumble. Morgan Bihun continued her hot hitting from last year over the weekend as she had a .429 average with one home run and four runs batted in. Lone senior, Bailey Schultz also started off the season on a right foot as she went 5-14 at the dish with four runs scored. On the mound, Brittany Baneck picked up the lone win for the Phoenix and she pitched 12.1 innings. Kayla Schwebke had the lowest ERA over the three day span for Green Bay and logged 11 strikeouts.  
 
Friday, Feb. 14 vs Marist at 6:00 PM
Saturday, Feb. 15 at Belmont at 3:00 PM
Saturday, Feb. 15 vs Marist at 5:30 PM
Sunday, Feb. 16 vs Western Michigan at 9:00 AM
 
Scouting the Marist Red Foxes: Marist will open their 2020 season against Green Bay at the Bruin Challenge. The Red Foxes were picked second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference preseason poll after a 35-22 overall record last season and an impressive 16-4 clip in league play. Some key pieces return for Coach Joe Ausanio who will be entering his 12^th season at the helm. Redshirt senior Claire Oberdorf has been named to an All-MAAC team in each of the three seasons she's played in a Red Foxes uniform. Oberdorf ranks third in program history in stolen bases and was the Rookie of the Year in the conference in 2016.  Fellow senior Ali Milam will also look to repeat her success from the last two years, as she has been First Team All-MAAC and a Second Team All-Region choice in those campaigns respectively.
 
Scouting the Belmont Bruins: Belmont was picked to finish sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Poll after a 31-23 season last year and 12 wins in 22 conference games. This will be the first tournament of the year for the Bruins and first weekend for Coach Megan Smith as head coach as she looks to continue the success for last year's team. Cheyenne Cavanaugh, who hit .322 with nine doubles, a triple, and 16 RBI will return for the Bruins along with Alicia Veltri, who always hit above .300 last season but added some major pop in the lineup as she launched eight home runs and drove in 39 runs. Brooklin Lee will be the number one starter for the Bruins this year as she posted a 3.52 ERA last year with 13 wins and a sensational 152 strikeouts in 147 innings.
 
Scouting the Western Michigan Broncos: Western Michigan enters this weekend with a 1-3 record after playing in the Kajikawa Classic last weekend. The Broncos faced three Top 25 teams at the invitational and upset #22 Arizona State 9-7 thanks to a huge day from Mackenzie Swinehart. The Broncos were chosen to finish eighth in the MAC this season in the preseason poll and will look to improve upon their 18-28 record last season. This will be Coach Kathy Keitke's 20^th season in Kalamazoo and 29^th season overall as a head coach, where she has accumulated over 700 career wins. Leading the charge for the Broncos at the plate are Sydney Stefanick and Mackenzie Swinehart. Stefanick led the team with a .380 batting average last season and a .697 slugging percentage while Mackenzie Swinehart hit .327 and scored 35 runs for her side.
 
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