CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (Feb. 26, 2009) - After posting a 3-1 homestand last weekend, the Lady Buccaneer softball team now hits the road for a two and a half week stretch, beginning Friday when ETSU heads to Chattanooga for the 2009 Frost Classic.

The Lady Bucs begin a stretch of five games in three days against Boston College on Friday at 3 p.m. Following play with the Eagles, ETSU will take on Toledo at 5:30. On Saturday, the Lady Bucs will be tested against Morehead State at 12:30 and end the day with Princeton at 3 p.m. ETSU wraps up the tournament with Atlantic 10 foe Rhode Island on Sunday at 10 a.m.

ETSU, who is off to its best start in program history at 6-3, has been led by the strong arm of Marissa Hardy (Rocklin, Calif.) and the hot bat Trisha Massenzo (Russellville, Tenn.). After dropping a 1-0 heartbreaker to James Madison in the season-opener, Hardy has been red-hot by winning her last three decisions. Hardy has made four appearances (three starts) since, and has recorded a 0.64 ERA (2 ER/22.0 IP) with 27 strikeouts. Meanwhile, Massenzo has hit safely in eight straight games - going 11-for-24 (.458) with two doubles, a home run, 10 RBIs and four runs scored.

Freshman third baseman Amy Campbell (Hixson, Tenn.) currently leads the club in hitting (.500), while junior Darci Gilbert (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and sophomore right-hander Ashley Boyd (Chattanooga, Tenn.) look to build off their two-hit shutouts. Gilbert blanked Furman in the Lady Bucs' 3-0 win against Furman on Friday and Boyd held Milligan scoreless (10-0) in game two on Saturday.

This weekend ETSU will play all games on field three, except for the Morehead State contest, which will be at field 2.

Below is a breakdown on each team the Lady Bucs will face in this weekend's tournament:

Boston College (Atlantic Coast Conference)

Record - 4-6

Streak - L3

Preseason Conference Finish - 8^th (out of 8 teams)

Who to watch for - Amy Tunstall is hitting a team-high .393 (11-28) and leads Boston College with four doubles and is tied for the lead with five RBIs. Taylor Peyton leads the club with three wins and a 1.06 ERA.

Toledo (Mid-American Conference)

Record - 2009 season-opener (16-27 in 2008)

Streak - N/A

Preseason Conference Finish - 5^th in Western Division (out of 6 teams)

Who to watch for - Lacy LeVier (Jr. / UTIL) is Toledo's top returning hitter from a year ago (.322) and posted 12 doubles, two home runs and 18 RBIs. Hannah Rockhold (Jr. / RHP) won a team-best eight games last season (32 appearances) and finished with a 4.16 ERA (82 ER/138.0 IP).

Morehead State (Ohio Valley Conference)

Record - 3-2

Streak - W2

Preseason Conference Finish - 3^rd (out of 10 teams)

Who to watch for - Sophomore third baseman Rebecca Butler is the Ohio Valley Conference's leading hitter with a .563 average and a slugging percentage of higher than 1.000. Junior pitcher Alex Gjevre is 2-1 with a 0.93 ERA and 20 strikeouts. Gjevre was the 2008 OVC Pitcher of the year and currently leads the league in ERA.

Princeton (Ivy League)

Record - 2009 season-opener (25-24 in 2008)

Streak - N/A

Preseason Conference Finish - N/A

Who to watch for - Kelsey Quist (Jr. / OF) hit a team-best .360 (49-136) with 12 doubles, two triples, 14 home runs and 39 RBIs. Kathryn Welch (Sr. / INF) ranked second on the team with a .356 average and led the Tigers with 14 doubles and 53 hits. Princeton returns two of its three pitchers from 2008 - including Jamie Lettire (Jr. / RHP) who led the Tigers with a 3.46 ERA (39 ER/79.0 IP). Lettire also went 8-4 with 42 strikeouts in 2008.

Rhode Island (Atlantic 10)

Record - 1-3

Streak - W1

Preseason Conference Finish - 11^th (out of 11 teams)

Who to watch for - Freshman outfielder Courtney Prendergastt leads Rhode Island in hitting .375, while junior infielder Darci Borden leads the club with four hits.

For a full recap of this weekend's games, visit www.ETSUBucs.com.