Friday, Feb. 8
Field One
12:30 p.m. – St. Louis vs. Jacksonville State - LIVE STATS - LIVE VIDEO
Field Three
5:30 p.m. – Jacksonville State vs. Louisiana Tech

Saturday, Feb. 9
Field One
10 a.m. – Southern vs. Jacksonville State - LIVE STATS - LIVE VIDEO
Field Three
3 p.m. – Nicholls State vs. Jacksonville State*

Sunday, Feb. 10
Field One
12 p.m. – Southeastern Louisiana vs. Jacksonville State - LIVE STATS - LIVE VIDEO
Home teams listed first

HAMMOND, La. – The Jacksonville State softball team will get its 2013 season underway on Friday, when the Gamecocks open the Southeastern Louisiana Jimmy Johns Lion Classic with a pair of games.

The Gamecocks start their season at 12:30 p.m. CT against St. Louis before wrapping up the day with a 5:30 p.m. game against Louisiana Tech. JSU will play five games over the three-day event. All of JSU's games on Field One this weekend are available to watch online through lionsports.net. There is a subscription cost, but fans can purchase the monthly pass for $10.95 and receive all three days' games. JSU will play one game on Field One each day.

The tournament marks the beginning of head coach Jana McGinnis' 20th season at the helm of the Gamecocks, one that she and her team are eager to get started.

“This is an exciting time of the year,” McGinnis said. “You're always excited to get the season started, suit up and face someone else. We have a lot of new faces and some familiar faces that will be in new positions, but this team has worked extremely hard to get ready for this weekend.”

Those familiar faces are led by returning All-Ohio Valley Conference players Tiffany Harbin and Sara Borders. Harbin, a junior pitcher from Hazel Green, Ala., missed the first month of the season with a hand injury but stormed back to post a 17-10 record and a 2.41 earned run average. She led the OVC in strikeouts per seven innings with 7.0 and posted a 2.04 ERA in league play.

Borders, a sophomore from Alexandria, Ala., was the Gamecocks' most consistent player as a freshman, boasting a team-best .320 average and 10 doubles in league play to claim All-OVC and OVC All-Newcomer honors in her freshman season. The team's leadoff hitter for much of the season, she hit .310 on the year and racked up 13 doubles, third-most in the OVC. She also drew 27 walks from the leadoff position, ranking in the top 10 in that category.

The Gamecocks also return senior experience in the field in Krystal Ruth and Kelci Johnston, while sophomore Savannah Sloan looks to build upon a freshman season that saw her hit .290 with a homer and 17 RBI. Senior Jessica Guy adds depth and experience in the outfield.

In the circle, Harbin leads the way but senior Hilary Phillips hopes to return to form after an arm injury limited her to just seven appearances in her junior season. Junior Savanna Hennings also is back for her third season in the circle, bringing even more experience to McGinnis' pitching staff.

McGinnis also welcomes a talented crop of newcomers to her program, featuring two highly decorated junior college players and a few prep standouts. Kalee Tabor is an infielder from Seminole State College that earned All-America and JUCO Player of the Year honors in the state of Florida after belting 17 home runs and driving in 65 runs as a sophomore.

Amanda Martinez is a first baseman that comes from Eastern Arizona College, where she was an all-region performer that hit 19 home runs and drove in 77 runs in 2012.

Cadi Oliver and Ella Denes highlight a group of four freshmen on this year's roster. Oliver was a four-time all-state performer from Sumiton Christian in Sumiton, Ala. She was the AHSAA Hitter of the Year in Class 3A as a sophomore and junior before earning the same honor in Class 2A as a senior. She set the state record for hits in a season with 122 in her senior year.

Denes was also a four-time all-state player for Pisgah High School in Pisgah, Ala. She was a career .489 hitter with 34 home runs and 237 career RBI. She is the state record holder for career runs scored with 364 and is second all-time with 460 career hits. She is also in the top 10 in the state record books in career walks, doubles, RBI and home runs.