ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell softball team opens its 2017 season with eyes on redemption and will have a chance to show its improvement when it opens the 2017 Stetson Hatter Classic on Friday, March 3 at 10 a.m. The Big Red will play five games over three days in DeLand, Fla.. against LIU Brooklyn, South Dakota, Bethune-Cookman and host Stetson.

Cornell will be hitting the field for the first time this season, while each of its opponents on the weekend have at least 12 games under their belt. The Big Red brings a 648-445-3 all-time record into its 24th season as a varsity program and is 15-8 in its previous 23 season openers.

The loss of Cornell's top three hitters to graduation (Meg Parker, Leanne Iannucci and Emily Weinberg) stings, but the Big Red has plenty left at the plate. Senior Jessica Bigbie is a career .321 hitter, while junior Rebecca Kubena (.286, 2 HR, 23 RBI) and sophomore Kim Dolhon (.372, 5 HR, 13 RBI) had strong 2016 campaigns. The return of senior Michiko McGivney after a year's absence will also bolster the offense. A 2014 first-team All-Ivy pick, McGivney is a career .336 hitter with 31 doubles and 12 home runs who has started 105 contests in her Big Red career. Junior Megan Murray, an all-Ivy first-teamer as a rookie, is a .325 career hitter and will see time at first and in centerfield.

Junior Tori Togashi (.247, 3 HR, 5 RBI) will battle for time behind the plate and at designated player, while Olivia Lam is back after missing a majority of her rookie season due to injury and will compete for the starting catcher spot. Madeline Avery (.214, 5 RBI) will also be in that mix. Both Ivey Wagner (.222, 5 RS) and Zoe Hernandez (.150, 2 RS) provide depth and will attempt to break into the lineup full time in 2017.

Junior Maddie Orcutt has won 15 career games and thrown nearly 230 innings in her first two seasons with 148 strikeouts. Her experience will be key, as rookies Cora Geunes, Katie Lew and Lisa Nelson will all expect to earn innings in their first seasons on East Hill.

Freshmen are also expected to play significant roles throughout the rest of the diamond as well. First-year players Bridgette Rooney (first base), Sarah Murray (shortstop) and Erin Rockstroh (third base) could make up three-quarters of the infield in some games.

The Big Red was 9-32 a season ago and 3-17 in Ivy League play, but hope springs thanks to a young, talented roster ready to make a turnaround and get Cornell back to its place atop the Ancient Eight.

LIU Brooklyn
The Blackbirds are 5-8 to open the season, playing each of the last three weekends. LIU counts wins over No. 23 BYU (10-5) and Purdue (21-5) among its victories this season. Schae Dickson, the reigning NEC Softball Player of the Week, is off to a hot start, batting .424 with two home runs and 13 RBI through 13 contests, while five other regulars are hitting .323 or better. Erynn Sobieski leads the Blackbirds in the circle with a 3-3 record and a 5.90 ERA in 40.1 innings of work. Head coach Roy Kortmann is in his 22nd season in the dugout and has led the team to 10 regular season NEC titles and has been named conference coach of the year eight times. He enters the weekend with a 615-542-2 records, including 301-93-1 in the Northeast Conference. Sobieski was the NEC Pitcher of the Year, while catcher Victoria Zamora also joins her on the preseason first-team all-conference list. The duo were key cogs in last season's 30-27 squad that was 14-2 in NEC play.

South Dakota
The Coyotes are 5-7 overall, including 4-2 in its last six games, entering the weekend. South Dakota owns wins over Illinois-Chicago, Creighton, Wichita State and Long Beach State, among others. USD was 15-38 a year ago (8-9 Summit League). Shelby Keil, the reigning Summit League Player of the Week, is hitting a team-best .455 with a .525 on-base percentage in 12 contests, one of five starters hitting .300 or better. Ally Wiegand (2-3, 2.66 ERA, 20 Ks is 29.0 IP) has been the top hurler through three weekends. First-year coach Robert Wagner won two NCAA titles as an assistant coach at Arizona State.

Bethune-Cookman
The Wildcats are 1-14 entering the weekend, with the lone win a 5-1 victory over Boston University. The team is on a 12-game skid since, though its losses have come against the likes of Stanford, LSU, Texas, Michigan, St. John's, North Carolina State and Providence. Mariah Davis (.391, 2B, 3 RBI) and Kaitlin Alamprese (.344, 2 2B, 2 RBI) lead the way offensively, while Mariah Estrada (1-3, 5.89 ERA) and Destiny Enriquez (0-7, 8.48 ERA) have split a majority of the innings. Laura Watten is in her 10th season over two stints as head coach at Bethune-Cookman. In 2005, Bethune-Cookman won its first NCAA Regional Tournament, advancing from the Gainesville Regional to the Austin Super Regional. Watten sports a 625-478 career record.

Stetson
Stetson is off to a 10-3 start with its only losses coming to Kansas, Mississippi and nationally-ranked South Florida. Coming off a 30-24 season a year ago, the Hatters return 13 letter winners. Included is senior Kelsey Waters, who leads the team with a .462 average, while freshman Blake Crews and her team-best 20 RBI. As a team, Stetson is hitting a robust .302 and fielding at an impressive .970 clip. In the circle, Tori Perkins is the top option (6-3, 3.26 ERA). Frank Griffin, in his 21st season at Stetson and 28th as a college head coach, has won more than 900 games.