Boise State Travels to Buzz Classic at Georgia Tech

Boise State Travels to Buzz Classic at Georgia Tech
Atlanta, Ga. (Georgia Tech and Georgia State)

Friday, Feb. 12 at Georgia Tech (Doubleheader)

Game 1: Boise State (0-0) at Georgia Tech (0-0) | 9 a.m. MT | Live Stream (ACC Network Extra) | Live Scoring
Game 2: Boise State (0-0) at Georgia Tech (0-0) | 11 a.m. MT | Live Stream (ACC Network Extra) | Live Scoring

Saturday, Feb. 13 at Georgia State (Doubleheader)

GAME 3: Boise State (0-0) at Georgia State (0-0) | 11 a.m. MT | Live Scoring
GAME 4: Boise State (0-0) at Georgia State (0-0) | 1:30 p.m. MT | Live Scoring

Sunday, Feb. 14 at Georgia Tech

Game 5: Boise State (0-0) vs. Radford (0-0) | 8 a.m. MT | Live Scoring

FOLLOW THE BRONCOS: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Roster | Stats

THIS WEEK FOR THE BRONCOS

WHAT IS NEXT: Boise State opens the season this weekend at Atlanta, Ga., where the Broncos will participate in the 22nd Buzz Classic hosted by Georgia Tech. On the schedule are five contests, doubleheaders at Georgia Tech Friday morning and at Georgia State on Saturday, followed by one match Sunday at Georgia Tech versus Radford.

TIMES CHANGES: The start times for the Georgia Tech doubleheader have been moved earlier in the day to 11 a.m. ET/9 a.m. MT and 1 p.m. ET/11 a.m. MT.

FOLLOW THE ACTION: Friday's games will be streamed live on the ACC Network Extra, while the final three contests will not be available on live stream, all five games will feature live scoring. Fans can find all the links to follow the action by going to the softball schedule on BroncoSports.com or by clicking on the links listed above.

BOISE STATE VERSUS THE FIELD: The Broncos have never faced any of this week's opponents prior to this year. Boise State is 1-2 all-time versus the ACC home to Georgia Tech; 4-1 versus Radford's conference the Big South; and 1-1 against the Sun Belt which is home to Georgia State.

THE BRONCOS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER: This is Boise State's first trip to the state of Georgia and the third east of the Mississippi River all-time. They went 6-0 at a tournament in Charleston, S.C., Feb. 23-25, 2017 and 2-2 at the NCAA Regional at Gainesville, Fla., in 2019.

SEASON OPENERS: Boise State is 7-5 all-time in season openers – all on the road – since the program started in 2009. They are 2-0 during the coach Maggie Huffaker era. The Broncos have an active three-game win streak in openers including a 4-0 victory last year over Saint Mary's (Calif.).

SCOUTING GEORGIA TECH: The Yellow Jackets return 19 players from the 2020 roster, including two All-ACC honorees. Georgia Tech went 12-11 overall and 2-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play in 2020. This year's squad was picked to place ninth out of 13 teams in the 2021 ACC race.

SCOUTING GEORGIA STATE: The Panthers went 7-16 overall and 1-2 in Sun Belt Conference play in 2020. This year's team is projected to place 10th in the SBC 2021 race.

SCOUTING RADFORD: The Highlanders are projected to place tied for fourth out of eight schools in the Big South Preseason Coaches Poll. Radford returners six starters, including the 2021 Big South Preseason Player of the Year Sydney Fisher, from a team that went 13-3 in 2020.

SCOUTING BOISE STATE: Boise State returns seven starters and two pitchers from the 2020 campaign that saw the Broncos go 14-11. In addition, they welcomed back 13 veterans while adding two transfers and eight freshmen. Among the returners back are two All-Mountain West honorees in Karlee Johnson and Alison Seng. This year's Boise State team was picked to place fourth out of nine teams in the 2021 league race.

ABOUT THE BRONCOS

HEAD COACH HUFFAKER: Boise State is in its third season under the guidance of Maggie Huffaker who has recorded a 50-27 overall record with the Broncos. Some of Huffaker's accomplishments at Boise State include: one NCAA Regional appearance and one NCAA regional championship appearance; two winning seasons; student-athletes have earned three NFCA All-Region honors and eight All-MW accolades. Academically, her team has earned one NFCA Academic Team Award, nine NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete accolades, 29 Academic All-MW and 20 MW Scholar-Athlete (3.5 or better cumulative GPA) honors.

ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST HONOREES BACK: Leading the team this year are two 2020 All-MW honorees in Karlee Johnson and Alison Seng. The duo started all 25 games in 2020 combining for 52 hits, 24 runs, 29 RBI and three home runs. Defensively, they combined for 205 putouts.

WHAT IS BACK: Boise State returned 13 members of the 2020 squad, including seven starters and two pitchers. Starters back include: short stop Karlee Johnson (25 hits, 11 runs, 2 home runs, 16 RBI), first baseman Alison Seng (27 hits, 13 runs, 1 home run, 13 RBI), outfielder Ashlyn Adams (23 hits, 17 runs, 2 home runs, 13 RBI), catcher Serena Huchingson (18 hits, 11 runs, 2 home runs, 14 RBI), outfielder Kelsey Lalor (19 hits, 16 runs, 4 home runs, 14 RBI), second baseman Autumn Bennett (16 hits, 13 runs, 1 home run, 5 RBI) and third baseman/designated player Bella Rocco (16 hits, 4 runs, 2 home runs, 14 RBI).

PITCHERS BACK: Hannah Bailey is the leading pitcher back from 2020. She pitched in 42.1 innings in 13 appearances with an ERA of 4.46, 26 strikeouts and eight walks. Jordan Schuring also returns after seeing limited time in 2020.

NATIONALLY RANKED RECRUITING CLASS: This year's freshmen class was ranked 27th nationally by Extra Inning Softball. In all, Boise State added two transfers and eight freshmen to the core group of veterans. The transfers include pitchers Sara Johnson (Towson) and Kiele Miller (Creighton).