Clearwater, Fla. - The LIU Brooklyn softball team will travel to Tampa to take part in a pair of tournaments hosted by the University of South Florida, as part of a 10-day road trip that includes a 12 contests against teams from around the nation. The Blackbirds begin their journey on Friday, March 9 against Kennesaw State and Toledo, on the first day of the USF Under Armour Showcase.

The Owls enter the weekend with an 11-9 record, and have faced two teams that are on LIU's schedule in 2012. Kennesaw State split a doubleheader with Florida Gulf Coast and dropped an extra-inning battle with Northeast Conference member Robert Morris. Fifteen of the 18 players on KSU's roster hail from the state of Georgia.

Later on Friday, LIU will take on Toledo for the first time in school history. The Rockets enter with a 4-12 record, and like the Blackbirds have defeated Long Beach State this season. Lindsey Tobias leads the team with a .357 batting average and 11 RBIs.

Also on the docket for the Blackbirds at the USF Under Armour tournament are Bradley, Northern Iowa and East Tennessee State. LIU has never faced the Braves in its history, but has taken on UNI and ETSU once each. The Blackbirds fell 14-2 to Northern Iowa in 1997, and had a narrow 4-3 loss in eight innings to the Bucs in 2009.

Next week, Rutgers and Boston University will play single games on back-to-back days on March 13-14 against LIU. The Blackbirds are a perfect 6-0 in their history over Boston University, including a 5-4 win in the NCAA Tournament in 2010 that advanced LIU to its first ever regional final. Against the Scarlet Knights, LIU Brooklyn holds a decisive 31-17 edge in wins and pounded out 11 hits in last season's 9-6 win in Clearwater.

At the USF The Game Tournament on March 16-18, LIU will battle Coastal Carolina, North Florida, Canisius, Florida A&M, and Northwestern. The Blackbirds boast victories over four of the five schools, including an 11-6 win over the No. 12-ranked Wildcats at the Palm Springs Classic in 2009. The victory stands as the first in school history over a nationally-ranked opponent. The only tournament opponent that LIU has not defeated is Florida A&M, as the two schools have never met.