Softball Opens Fall Play This Weekend

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SEATTLE - The 2015 Washington softball team gets its first taste of game action this weekend as the team hosts the Husky Fall Classic at Husky Softball Stadium on October 10-12.

Washington enters the new season on the heels of making its 10th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament under the leadership of head coach Heather Tarr.

The Huskies welcome nine newcomers to a roster that graduated eight players in 2014, including All-Americans Victoria Hayward and Hooch Fagaly. UW is led by a senior class that has compiled a 121-51 record (.703 winning percentage) in their first three seasons at Washington. The class is headlined by All-American Kylee Lahners, a senior utility player who paced the team with a .346 average, 61 RBIs and 17 home runs in her junior campaign.

Fellow senior, Kelli Suguro batted .333 with 38 hits and 17 RBIs a season ago while sophomore infielder Ali Aguilar was second on the team with 38 RBIs and third with 50 hits.

Senior Kasey Stanchek, sophomore Hailey Bator and Missouri transfer Casey Stangel will be relied upon in the circle with the departure of Kaitlin Ingelsby and Bryana Walker. Stangel finished 15-10 with a 3.27 ERA in her rookie campaign at Mizzou.

Stanchek, Bator and Stangel will be joined in the circle by freshmen Kristin Cochran and Kirstyn Thomas.

The Huskies will take on five local teams – Bellevue College, Western Washington, Spokane, Central Washington and Wenatchee Valley – over the three-day tournament.

UW plays five games, starting with a 6:30 p.m. showdown against Bellevue on Friday, October 10. On Saturday, the Huskies play Western at 2 p.m. and Spokane at 4:30 p.m. The tournament will wrap up Sunday, with the Huskies playing Central at 2 p.m. before facing Wenatchee at 4:30 p.m.

Admission is $7 for the entire day and a weekend pass is available for $18. Tickets can be purchased at the gate on the day of game/tournament. Parking on Friday and Saturday will be $8. All proceeds from the tournament benefit the Husky softball program to supplement travel budget, team building activities and facility upgrades.

Fans can follow the fall action on Twitter at @UWSoftball.

The complete 2015 Husky Fall Classic schedule is as follows:

Friday, October 10

3:30 p.m. – Northwest vs. Bellevue

6:00 p.m. – Washington vs. Bellevue

Saturday, October 11

9:00 a.m. – Bellevue vs. Western

11:30 a.m. – Bellevue vs. Wenatchee Valley

2:00 p.m. – Washington vs. Western

4:30 p.m. – Washington vs. Spokane

7:00 p.m. – Wenatchee Valley vs. Spokane

Sunday, October 12

9:00 a.m. – Central Washington vs. Centralia

11:30 a.m. – Wenatchee Valley vs. Centralia

2:00 p.m. – Washington vs. Central Washington

4:30 p.m. – Washington vs. Wenatchee Valley