NORTH ANDOVER, MA-- Merrimack Softball begins their season by heading west to participate in the UNLV Rebel Classic which will see them play in five contests in a three-day span from Friday to Sunday. The four opponents that the Warriors will face are the hosts UNLV along with Valparaiso, Idaho State and Utah Valley, which are also three teams the Warriors have never faced before this weekend. All five games of the tournament can be seen for free on the UNLVAthletics channel on YouTube.
New Merrimack Head Coach Jill Gagnon takes the reigns for her first games in charge. Gagnon followed a stellar college career at Merrimack where she was a First Team All-NE10 selection and selected to the NE10 All-Championship Team and was also named NFCA All-American East Region First Team as a senior in 2009, to a fantastic coaching career at Saint Anselm, winning 316 games over 12 seasons winning three NE-10 championships and making seven NCAA tournament appearances including a runner up finish in 2018.
The Warriors return 18 players from the previous season to go along with six freshman and two transfers, both from Saint Anselm.
At the plate, the Warriors will look for returning top hitter
Thiana Brito to set the pace, Brito, a senior from Lawrence, Massachusetts had 39 hits last season including seven for extra bases. Also returning for Merrimack are the team's third and fifth leading hit getters,
Gabby Kaduson and
Madeline Arvai.
In the circle, Merrimack returned three pitchers, including wins leader
Anna Gedacht, the junior from Fairfield, Connecticut was the workhorse of the rotation last season pitching 140 innings, including 11 complete games while posting a 2.85 ERA.
Emma Prahin and
Brandi Neil also return for another year of action and the Warriors will also look for transfer
Sam Ryan to provide big innings, last season for Saint Anselm, Ryan won 14 games and posted a 2.54 ERA.
The Warriors will play 13 games on the road to begin the season before their first home game at Martone-Mejail Field on March 11
th.
For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on X, Instagram and Facebook.
