INDIANAPOLIS - The 2009 MCC Tournament champion Marian University softball team will open the season on March 8-13 in Kissimmee, Fla., before returning to Indianapolis to take on Calument-St. Joseph in the Knights' home opener at the Marian University Softball Field.

The Knights finished the 2009 campaign with a 14-2 record in the Mid-Central College Conference and a 37-9 overall mark. MU will look to new talent in several positions to fill the voids of their departing seniors. The top loss for the 2010 season is pitcher Heather Pieper. Pieper was a two-time All-Conference pick and finished 19-4 for the Knights last year. "We're going to be looking to fill the void that comes with the loss of Pieper," said head coach Scott Fleming. All-Conference honorees Samantha Hypes and Amanda Teagardin are also key losses for the Knights. Coach Fleming will look to returning letter winners and five newcomers to takeover where the Knights left off in 2009.

After taking on Calumet-St. Joseph, the Knights will play host to Cedarville University before going back on the road. They will travel to Oakland City University, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, and Taylor University. These will be the first of a pair of meetings between MU and both Oakland City and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

Their next six contests will be back at the MU softball field where they will face IU-Southeast, Indiana Tech, Hanover College, Spring Arbor University, Oakland City University, and Urbana University. The Knights defeated Spring Arbor, 6-4, in the second round of last year's Mid-Central College Conference tournament en route to the title.

MU will go back on the road to face conference opponent Grace College. The Knights swept Grace and outscored the Lancers 13-0 last season.

The Knights will then see Saint Mary-of-the-Woods for the second time during the 2010 campaign when they play host to the Pomeroys, as well as MCC rival Indiana Wesleyan University. Last season, the Knights spilt the series with IWU.

In their final stretch of road games, MU will see league foes Huntington University and Goshen College. The Knights went 4-0 last season against the two teams. They will also play at Purdue-North Central and see Urbana University for the second time this season.

The final regular season games for 2010 bring Bethel College and the University of St. Francis (Ind.), which they swept in 2009, to Indianapolis. Last season, Marian ended Bethel's 35-game MCC winning streak by taking the second of two regular season games. The Knights saw Bethel again in the conference championship game, where they came away with a 14-5 victory in five innings.

Their record landed them a spot in the NAIA Tournament Play-in Series where they met Bethel once again. However, Bethel took the best of three series, 2-1.

The Knights are returning key players such as senior Sandy Corum (North Vernon, Ind./Jennings County), juniors  Mallory Ortwein (Anderson, Ind./Anderson) and Jessica Slayton (Indianapolis, Ind./Decatur Central), and sophomore Kelsey Uebelhor (St. Anthony, Ind./Forest Park).

Corum was named 2009 Pitcher of the Year runner-up and is a two-year All-Conference selection. She went 14-1 in the circle last season and will be MU's top returning pitcher.

Ortwein had a team-high 12 homeruns for the Knights in 2009, while driving in a team-high 41 runs. She also started all 38 games she played for the Knights, and should be 100 percent after coming off knee surgery. Fellow junior Slayton, a two-time All-Conference selection, will return as the leading hitter for the Knights. She had a team-high 13 doubles for the Knights in 2009.

Uebelhor was named All-MCC and MCC Newcomer of the Year for an outstanding freshman season. She started 44 games for the Knights and had a .364 batting average.

Five newcomers were added to the Knights' line-up and Fleming is "really excited with this group."  "I think we have a really good group of freshmen," he added. "They all had a good fall season for us." 

Pitcher and third baseman Emily Gwaltney (Bargersvile, Ind./ Center Grove) comes from a championship program at Center Grove High School and will be a great all-around addition of pitching and hitting. Amy Tamer (Indianapolis, Ind./Scecina Memorial) and Amanda Tutrow (Indianapolis, Ind./Scecina Memorial)  both contributed to their state finalist high school team. Fleming will look to Tamer to help fill the void of Pieper and hopes that Tutrow will adjust well to a fall shoulder surgery. Helen Rogers (Avon, Ind./Acvon) is able to contribute in multiple places for the Knights and was the team's leading hitter in the fall.  Fleming will look for Brandy Roth (Speedway, Ind./Speedway) to bring speed into the Knights line-up.     

Overall, Coach Fleming believes the conference will be stronger and more competitive as a whole this year, but their goal is to challenge for the conference regular season championship and to repeat as MCC tournament champions.