SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Santa Clara University softball team is gearing up for the new season and will officially begin fall practice on October 4. Led by fourth-year head coach Lisa Mize, the Broncos expect to have 19 players on their fall roster, including seven true freshman and two transfers.

"The main goal will be getting this group to come together as a team," said Mize about the fall campaign. "We have a large incoming class of nine players so we really need to spend some time learning each players strengths, or areas which may need improvement. As always, fundamentals will be a big part of what we do this time of year and strength and conditioning is always an area of tremendous concentration during the fall months. We want our student-athletes to be fit and to build strength for the upcoming season."

2011 Fall Schedule:
Friday, Oct. 14 @ San Jose City College 3 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 21 @ San Jose State 3 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 5 @ Galivan College (DH) 10 a.m./12 noon
Sunday, Nov. 6 @ Stanford (DH) 11 a.m./1 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 12 ALUMNI GAME (Bellomy Field) 12:30 p.m.

"We have a well-rounded fall schedule," said Mize. "We will play some games against local community college teams which will allow us to get the new players in and also play with the lineup a bit and see where everyone works best. Additionally, we will play two Division I opponents in San Jose State and Stanford, which will definitely give us the challenge that we need and prepare us well for the season."

Mize and the Bronco softball family always enjoy the annual Alumni Game, which will be held this year on Saturday, Nov. 12. SCU senior Briana Knight is pictured above.

Check back for more coverage of Santa Clara softball this fall and follow us on twitter @SCUSoftball.