After losing eight of the top 11 hitters from last year, a softball coach might want to ease her newbies into the season with easier competition at the start.
Western Michigan University second year coach Marlee Wilson doesn't think that way…like a non-conference schedule which includes the preseason No. 1 team in the nation, Florida, according to D1Softball.com.
''We want to challenge ourselves with good competition early,'' Wilson said. ''We have competitive preseason weekends scheduled and the team is up for the challenge.''
The three top returners are seniors Payton Kelly (.