BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- The 2019 LIU Brooklyn softball team head back to sunny Florida this weekend for the Diamond 9 Citrus Blossom Invitational at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, from Friday through Sunday. The five-game schedule begins with Bethune-Cookman on Friday at 1:30 p.m., followed by a matchup with UMass right after at 4:00 p.m. Saturday's schedule will start with Villanova, from the Big East Conference at 11:00 a.m. followed later on by Troy at 4:00 p.m. The weekend will conclude on Sunday with a matchup against Stetson, from nearby DeLand at 9:00 a.m.

CITRUS BLOSSOM FIELD: Another loaded field will gather in Orlando with 12 National-caliber teams in the event overall. Of the Blackbirds five opponents, Bethune-Cookman (1-4), LIU (2-3) and Troy (3-2) were in tournaments last week, while Stetson (0-2) opened up at home. Villanova and Massachusetts will make their respective season debuts on Friday. UMass was a unanimous preseason first-place pick in the Atlantic-10 Coaches poll, while Villanova was picked third in the Big East.

IRVIS HONORED AFTER FGCU CLASSIC
LIU junior hurler Haley Irvis was named the Northeast Conference Pitcher of the Week for the first time in her career following the FGCU Kickoff Classic last weekend. Irvis was the winning pitcher in both of LIU's victories, tossing 15.2 innings over three starts and finished with a 2-1 record, 0.89 ERA and 14 strikeouts. Freshman Elena Valenzuela, who came in relief three times last week was impressive, yielding only six hits and getting six strikeouts in 11.0 innings with one save and a 1.91 ERA in her LIU debut. Offensively, the Blackbirds had 23 hits in five games, with senior Schae Dickson leading the way with four. Also of note, freshmen Kristen Blanchard, Samantha Garcia, Camryn Lyman, Alyssa Martinez and Angelina Reno made significant contributions last week as they began their collegiate careers.

THE OPPOSITION
Bethune-Cookman
2019 Record: 1-4
LIU Record vs. the Eagles: 5-1 all-time, 1-0 last year (6-5 win)
Top Player: Cheyenne Smith, Sr.. OF, .375 batting average, 2 runs, 1 RBI
Top Pitcher: Destiny Enriquez, Jr. SP, 1-0, 1-4 ERA, 6 strikeouts

UMass
2019 Record: 0-0, 35-14 in 2018
LIU Record vs. the Minutewomen: 3-9 all-time; last game: 2016 (5-1 win).
Top Player:  Erin Stacevicz, Sr., OF, .367 batting, 37 runs scored in 2018
Top Pitcher:  Kiara Oliver, So. SP, 17-4, 1.80 ERA, 156 Ks in 2018

Villanova
2019 Record: 0-0, 27-24-2 in 2018
LIU Record vs. the Wildcats: 16-16 all-time; last game: 2008 (3-2 win).
Top Player: Angela Giampolo, So., IF, .307 batting, 32 runs scored
Top Pitcher:  Anissa Amarillas, So. SP, 17-14, 3.52 ERA, 83 Ks in 2018

Troy
2019 Record: 3-2
LIU Record vs. the Trojans: 1-1 all-time; last game: 2004 (3-1 loss).
Top Player: Logan Calhoun, So., IF, .417 batting, 2 runs batted in
Top Pitcher:  Leanna Johnson, Fr. SP, 2-1, 3.43 ERA, 19 strikeouts

Stetson
2019 Record: 0-2
LIU Record vs the Hatters: 1-3 all-time, 1-0 last year (6-3 win).
Top Player: Ashly Smith, Sr., IF, .429 batting, 2 runs batted in
Top Pitcher: Jamie Tino, So., SP, 0-1, 2.80 ERA, 2 strikouts

TOURNAMENT COVERAGE: There will be Live Stats for four of the five games of the tournament. All links can be found on the LIU Softball schedule page. Also there is video available for a subscription price at the link here: Video link.