RED & BLACK SHOWCASE SCHEDULE
Friday, February 9
vs. Murray State | 10:30 a.m. ET
vs. South Dakota | 1 p.m. ET
Saturday, February 10
at Georgia | 3:30 p.m. ET | SECN+
vs. South Dakota | 6 p.m. ET
Sunday, February 11
at Georgia | 12 p.m. ET | SECN+
Follow the @purduesoftball X/Twitter account for the latest updates regarding game times
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue softball team is set to open the season in Athens, Georgia at the Red and Black Showcase on Friday.
The Boilermakers, led by first year head coach Magali (Maggie) Frezzotti, travel to #6 Georgia for a five-game tournament, which will include Murray State, South Dakota and host No. 6 Georgia.Purdue will play back-to-back on Friday and Saturday and will close out the weekend with a single game on Sunday. Two games will be available for fans to watch on SEC Network plus on the Watch ESPN app: Saturday's 3:30 p.m. ET game at Georgia and Sunday's Noon matchup against the Bulldogs.
THE #23 RECRUITING CLASS
- Purdue's freshmen class ranked #23 in the nation on signing day by Extra Innings Softball.
- Utility player Ashlynn Campbell was named to the Softball America Freshman Watch List in January.
- It marks the second straight year a freshman class has been ranked, with the now-sophomores ranked No. 5 by Extra Inning Softball upon their signing day.
FALL BALL REPORT
- The Boilermakers went undefeated at 8-0 during fall games.
- They outscored opponents 69-9.
- Opponents included Marian, Huntington, Lakeland, Ball State, UIndy and Bryant & Stratton.
FIRST YEAR HC MAGGIE FREZZOTTI
- Purdue hired Magali (Maggie) Frezzotti in June 2023 after serving the previous two years as Purdue's assistant coach who oversaw defense.
- Frezzotti helped lead Purdue
- Previous stops: Montana, Eastern Michigan, Concordia and Michigan, where she worked with the winningest coach in softball history, Carol Hutchins.
ON THE TABLE: AT #6 GEORGIA
- Purdue is looking for its first win over a ranked opponent since 2021. The win was a true road victory with the 1-0 shutout at #22 USF (3/17/22).
- Current Boilermakers Tyrina Jones, Olivia McFadden, Kiara Dillon and Kiersen George played in the shutout. Jones led the team with 13 putouts in the outing.
RETURNING FOR HER JUNIOR SEASON: TYRINA JONES
- Jones is among the top returners for 2024, having led the team last year in runs (34), hits (56) and is the top returner in batting average (.315).
- She started at shortstop every game last year.
- Recorded a batting average of .400 or better in 16 games, including 15 straight during non-con play in 2023.
- Ranked fourth in the Big Ten in assists (130).
- The sophomore earned her first career Big Ten Player of the Week honor on March 6 following an impressive performance which saw a .533 batting avg., two home runs, six RBI and eight hits. Jones scored the game-winner in all three Purdue victories that week, and had a hand in every run scored in the 4-0 victory at UNC (3/4).
- She joined elite company alongside Purdue alums All-American Rachel Becker (March 14, 2022), Jenny Behan (March 4, 2019) as the most recent Boilermakers to receive Big Ten Player of the Week honors.
- Jones' four hits vs. Syracuse (2/17/23) marked the second-most by a Boilermaker in a single game. It has happened 44 times in program history, last: two seasons ago by 2022 All-America Honorable Mention Rachel Becker, who posted four vs. Rutgers (2021).
QUOTEABLE: JUNIOR PITCHER MADI ELISH ON TEAM GROWTH
"The biggest difference I see in this team is our intentionality and our focus. We know are capabilities and with every opportunity we get to better ourselves in any way, we take it. We know our potential and how could we are capable of being and every day no matter how big or small we take all of the knowledge we can get from each other or our coaches to better ourselves."
SCOUTING THE MURRAY STATE RACERS
- One of the top defensive returners for the Racers is Taylor Jackson. She ended the season second in the MVC in putouts with 331. Jackson also ended the season with only four errors and fielding percentage of .986.
- A starter lost is pitcher Hannah James. She is an MVC All-Conference First Team honoree. James led the MVC in ERA (1.34) and shutouts (seven). She also ended season ranked fifth nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio, striking out 7.92 batters for every 1.0 walked.
- The Racers lost in the MVC quarterfinals against Indiana State in a 12-inning game. They ended their season third in the conference.
SCOUTING THE SOUTH DAKOTA COYOTES
- A top returner in the circle for the Coyotes is Clara Edwards. Edwards was one of the three Coyote players to be named to the Submit All-Tournament team. In the tournament, she threw back-to-back shutouts. At the end of the season, she earned a 2.47 ERA and pitched a total of 181.1 innings.
- The Coyote's finished fourth in the Summit League with a 11-9 conference record and 24-28 overall.
- In June, South Dakota also added a new assistant coach to their roster, Shannon Pivovar. She was the previous head coach at the University of Sioux falls.
SOUTING THE #6 GEORGIA BULLDOGS
- The Georgia Bulldogs finished their 2023 season with an impressive 42-15 overall record and 16-7 conference record, putting them at second in the conference.
- The Bulldogs had the highest team batting average (.318) and slugging percentage (.578) in the SEC .
- One of the top batters returning for the Bulldogs is Jayda Kearney. She ended the season with a .365 batting average and a .799 slugging percentage. She also earned 19 home runs and 46 RBI.
- In 2024, Georgia is favored to finish second in the SEC. They also have four players named to the Preseason All-SEC (Jayda Kearney, Sydney Kuma, Sara Mosley and Shelby Walters)
WEATHER OUTLOOK
Friday, February 8 | High of 63, low of 41 | cloudy
Saturday, February 9 | High of 67, low of 51 | 35% chance of rain
Sunday, February 10 | High of 63, low of 56 | 70% chance of rain