SAN ANTONIO — UTSA will open its fall exhibition season with four games this weekend at the 2011 College Classic. The two-day tournament will be played at Donald R. Collins Park in Houston.
The event will feature 14 teams from Texas and Louisiana and provide the Roadrunners an early test under first-year head coach Amanda Lehotak.
“I’m really excited and the kids deserve to play,” Lehotak said. “Practices are for coaches and games are for players. We’re ready to see them play so we know what to work on in the future.”
“We’re ready to go out and play someone other than ourselves,” senior pitcher Morgan Luksa said. “We all know each other pretty well by now and I’m ready to face someone I haven’t thrown to several times already.”
UTSA begins play at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday against Louisiana-Lafayette, which reached the finals of the Austin Regional last season and finished the year with a No. 23 ranking from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).
The action continues at 5:30 p.m. when the Roadrunners face the team that defeated the Ragin’ Cajuns to advance to a Super Regional, Houston. The Cougars saw their season come to an end just one win shy from a Women’s College World Series appearance and they ended the year at No. 16 in the NFCA poll.
UTSA will wrap up play on Sunday with games at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. against Alvin Community College and San Jacinto College, respectively.
“The benefits of this weekend are huge,” Lehotak said. “It’s most beneficial for the freshman. We’ve talked about the speed of the game, but they really don’t get it until they play. They should understand what we’re talking about on Saturday night after facing a pair of Top 25 teams from last season.”
2011 College Classic
Donald R. Collins Park · Houston, Texas
Saturday, Oct. 1
12:30 p.m. — UTSA vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (Field 3)
5:30 p.m. — UTSA vs. Houston (Field 1)
Sunday, Oct. 2
10 a.m. — UTSA vs. Alvin Community College (Field 2)
3 p.m. — UTSA vs. San Jacinto College (Field 2)
