OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University softball team (5-5) travels to Madeira Beach, Fla. for THE Spring Games this weekend. The RedHawks will play Iowa, Florida Atlantic, South Alabama, Middle Tennessee and Florida Gulf Coast from Friday through Sunday.

Miami kicks off the tournament against Iowa on Friday at 4 p.m. The RedHawks then immediately face Florida Atlantic at 6:30 p.m. On Saturday, Miami starts the day against South Alabama at 1:30 p.m. before playing Middle Tennessee at 6:30 p.m. The RedHawks wrap up the tournament against Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

A live stream of all games is accessible with a subscription through FloSoftball.

The RedHawks went 2-3 at the Frost Classic in Chattanooga last weekend. Miami beat the host team, Chattanooga (4-3, 8 innings), and Saint Louis (4-2) but lost to UNLV (0-1), Saint Francis (4-6) and Southern Illinois Edwardsville (4-6). Head coach Clarisa Crowell reached 200 wins against Chattanooga.

Jada Dotson led the Miami offense last weekend and was named MAC Co-Player of the Week on Tuesday. Dotson went 8-of-11 (.727) at the plate, including a team-leading four doubles and six RBIs. She was a perfect 4-of-4 in the win against Saint Louis, adding all three Miami RBIs and two doubles. Dotson also had a three-hit game against SIUE with two doubles and two RBIs. She also led the roster in slugging percentage (1.091), on-base percentage (.750) and hits (8) on the weekend.

Courtney Vierstra led the Miami pitching staff last weekend, earning both of the RedHawks' wins and posting an ERA of 1.77 over 23.2 innings pitched. Vierstra's 41 strikeouts on the weekend pushed her into fifth in program history in career strikeouts with 501. She reached double-figure strikeouts against both UNLV and Saint Francis and did not give up any earned runs against UNLV or Chattanooga.

OPPONENT PREVIEW

Iowa (12-2) travels to THE Spring Games following a perfect 5-0 weekend at the 2020 Hawaii Invitational. The Hawkeyes opened the weekend with an 8-3 win against Portland State and a 2-1 win against UMKC last Friday. Iowa shutout Portland State 8-0 in six innings on Saturday and followed that with a 2-1 win over the host team before wrapping up the weekend with a 4-2 win over UMKC on Sunday. Freshman infielder Nia Carter leads the Iowa offense in batting average (.567), hits (17), slugging percentage (.633) and on-base percentage (.594). Junior pitcher Lauren Shaw leads the pitching staff in ERA (1.46), wins (7), appearances (9), games started (7), complete games (5), shutouts (2) and innings pitched (48.0).

Florida Atlantic (7-4) went 1-2 in the FAU "Strikeout Cancer" Tournament last weekend as two games were canceled. FAU lost to Hofstra (3-9) and North Florida (7-9) on Friday before picking up a 9-8 win against LIU on Sunday. Redshirt senior infielder Jolie Duffner leads the Florida Atlantic offense in batting average (.280), at-bats (25), runs (4) and hits (7). Sophomore pitcher Lynn Gardner leads the pitching staff in ERA (3.04), wins (2), appearances (5), games started (3), complete games (2), innings pitched (23.0), strikeouts (20) and opponents' batting average (.214).

South Alabama (4-12) dropped all five games at the Mardi Gras Classic last weekend before falling to Nicholls State in a 16-inning midweek matchup. The Jaguars were outscored 35-12 at the Mardi Gras Classic. Senior infielder Katelyn Gruich leads the South Alabama offense in hits (15), doubles (3), triples (1), home runs (4), RBI (11), total bases (32), slugging percentage (.696) and on-base percentage (.421). Freshman pitcher Jenna Hardy leads the pitching staff in ERA (2.70), wins (2), appearances (11), games started (9), complete games (2), innings pitched (59.2), strikeouts (32) and opponents' batting average (.274).

Middle Tennessee (7-10) went 2-3 at the Mardi Gras Mambo last weekend. The Blue Raiders were shutout twice on Friday, losing 0-8 in six innings to McNeese State and 0-5 to Southeastern Louisiana. Middle Tennessee won both of its games on Saturday, beating Northwestern State 2-1 and Nicholls State 9-4. The Blue Raiders fell by a 2-3 margin to Houston Baptist on Sunday to end the tournament. The trio of Kaylee Richetto, Kelci Hill and Lexi Cushing leads the offense in nearly every category. Junior pitcher Amber Baldwin leads the pitching staff in wins (3), games started (8), complete games (3), strikeouts (25) and opponents' batting average (.230).

Florida Gulf Coast (11-4) went 3-1 at the FGCU Spring Break Invitational, losing only to Michigan State (0-5). FGCU beat Fordham (3-1), UMass Lowell (4-1) and Harvard (3-1). Freshman outfielder Johneisha Rowe leads the Flordia Gulf Coast offense in batting average (.435), at-bats (46), runs (11), hits (20), triples (1), total bases (23) and on-base percentage (.469). Junior pitcher Marissa Mesiemore leads the pitching staff in wins (6), appearances (9), games started (7), shutouts (1), innings pitched (41.2), strikeouts (44) and opponents' batting average (.185), though all four pitchers on staff have an ERA of 2.33 or less.