PHILADELPHIA – The 2012 softball season gets underway on Friday as the Explorers open play at the USC Upstate Tournament in Spartanburg, S.C.
 
The Explorers play host Upstate twice – the first in the season opener on Friday at 4 p.m. and again in the finale on Sunday at 11 a.m. They also take on Liberty on Saturday at 10 a.m., immediately followed by a contest against Savannah State at noon.
 
Youth is the story of 2012 as the Explorers field just five upperclassmen. Four freshmen will be making their collegiate debuts while five sophomores return for their second season. Seniors Heather Brabazon, Breanna DiTommaso and Shannon Skomorucha return for their final season in Blue & Gold and juniors Liz Reed and Tristan Musho round out the Explorer veterans.
 
Pitching

Three of those freshmen – Alicia Aughton, Kristin Travers and Alyssa Bitsimis – will comprise the Explorer pitching staff as the last year's entire staff graduated.
 
Aughton is a two-time Pittsburgh Gazette All-Section pitcher and a four-time Allegheny Times All-Star Team pick out of Moon Area High School in western Pennsylvania. Head Coach Brianne Brown will rely on her to provide consistency in the circle as she is projected to be a regular starter.
 
Travers, who hails from Eatontown, N.J. and led Red Bank Catholic to three conference titles and a state championship, is also projected to be a regular starter with Brown looking to her to provide extra pop in the circle.
 
Bitsimis, a Dix Hills, Long Island, native, will likely see time as a closer as Brown looks to mix up speeds to keep opposing batters off balance. The Half Hollow Hills West graduate was the 2011 League IV Player of the Year as well as All-State and All-Long Island after tying for most shutouts recorded in Suffolk County last season (7).
 
All three rookie pitchers will look to the experience of Skomorucha, who returns at the catcher position for her senior season. She has been the team's primary catcher over the past three seasons and her experience behind the plate will be an asset to the young pitching staff.
 
Hitting
 
Brown will also look to Aughton and Travers to make an immediate impact at the plate as both have power bats as well. Offensively, the Explorers also return Heather Brabazon who posted the highest batting average last season and Liz Reed, who was second on the team in hitting last season. Brabazon led the squad in doubles last season with six and Reed posted two doubles, two triples and a round-tripper.
 
Brown also looks for sophomores Megan Hodgson and Kati Cooper to step up at the plate as both also have very powerful bats. Hodgson was second on the team with seven RBI last season and drew a team-best 17 walks.
 
Fielding
 
Defensively, Reed and Emily Moran will anchor the infield at second base and shortstop, respectively. Brown is impressed with their fielding in the preseason and has high expectations for their success this season.
 
When not pitching, Aughton is likely to split time with Musho at first base. Cooper is expected to see a lot of time at third base with last year's third baseman, Jackie McBride, out for the season.
 
Hodgson will anchor the La Salle outfield in centerfield. Brown also looks for rookie Linnette Siedler, a Jackson, N.J., native, to provide extra speed in the outfield. Brabazon and DiTommaso also return to the outfield, but both are out for the early season games due to injury.
 
Opening Weekend
 
The Explorers are the only team in the four-team tournament to have not opened their season yet. Host USC Upstate enters the weekend with a perfect 8-0 record and have outscored their opponents 57-3 with only George Mason scoring upon the Spartans. Five players have batting averages of .400 or better, led by Ericka Harris' .500 average as she has gone 10-for-20 at the plate.
 
Liberty enters the weekend 2-2 overall. The Flames dropped their first two games at the Elon Invitational before trouncing North Carolina Central 14-5 and topping Georgetown 7-2. Kaylee West leads the team with a .615 batting average, knocking out hits in eight of her first 13 at-bats this season.
 
Savannah State is 3-3 overall, winning its first three games of the season but now looking to snap a three-game skid. In their wins, the Hornets have outscored opponents 25-4. India Morgan leads the offense with a .556 average (5-of-9 with five runs scored) and Chelsea Parrish is hitting .500 (7-of-14).
 
Homecoming?
 
The Explorers play their first 14 games on the road spread across three tournaments. Their home opener is on Tuesday, March 20, when they host local rival Villanova at West Campus Field at 2:30 p.m. The Atlantic 10 opener is on Friday, March 23, when Fordham comes to town for two games (Friday at 3 p.m.; Saturday at noon).

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