The Coach Roges Show

#197:  Jacquie Joseph, Head Coach, Michigan State.  In 2016, the Spartans will spar with six non-conference teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago: super-regional participant Georgia out of the SEC, and regional teams South Carolina (ACC) Notre Dame (SEC), Florida Atlantic (C-USA), Chattanooga (SoCon), and Arizona State (Pac-12). Add in College World Series participant Michigan and perennial NCAA qualifier Northwestern from MSU’s conference slate, and Joseph expects her team to be challenged from the first pitch of the season on Feb. 12.  MSU will open its B1G schedule against Wisconsin at home on March 24th.  Spartans Twitter, Spartans Facebook, Spartans IG, Coach Joseph Twitter, TCRS Twitter, TCRS Facebook,

#196:  Holly Aprile, Head Coach, University of Pittsburgh.  Pitt will spend more than half of its season on the road, playing 31 of its total 42 games out of state. The remaining 11 matchups will be played at the Petersen Sports Complex and will feature four ACC showdowns.  Pitt’s schedule is highlighted with six opponents from the 2015 NCAA tournament, including five ACC rivals. Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, and Notre Dame all competed in the opening round of regionals alongside the Panthers, while Florida State and NC State reached the second round before concluding their seasons. In total, a conference-record of seven teams earned NCAA bids last season.  The Panthers kick off their spring season with four consecutive weekend road tournaments, beginning with an outing at Macon, Ga. (Feb. 12-14). Scheduled games for the weekend include matchups against St. Bonaventure, Central Michigan and host Mercer.  The second week of March marks the official start of conference play, which Pitt will begin on the road at Tech Softball Park (March 12-13). The Panthers will take on the Virginia Tech Hokies in a very familiar setting as Tech hosted the 2015 ACC Tournament, where Pitt advanced to the ACC Championship Game.  Panthers Twitter, Panthers IG, TCRS Twitter, TCRS Facebook

#195:  Kate Drohan, Head Coach, Northwestern University, visits TCRS.  The Wildcats start the season with the Kajikawa Classic on Feb. 12 where they will face the University of California Riverside, University of Virginia, University of Tennessee, Bradley University and the University of Oregon.  Following Tempe, NU will head to the BG1/ACC Challenge to face North Carolina and Boston College.  Following the Challenge the Wildcats will head to the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic where Oregon State, New Mexico State, University of Georgia, Fresno State and UCLA will be waiting.  The first home game in Evanston will be April 1st against the Golden Gophers of Minnesota.  NU concluded the 2015 season with a 28-23 overall record after qualifying for its 10th NCAA Tournament field in the last 14 years. The Wildcats faced the nation's sixth-toughest nonconference schedule in 2015 and started the year 3-9 overall before bouncing back to go 17-2 in their next 19 games.  Wildcats Twitter, Wildcats Facebook, Coach Drohan Twitter, Wildcats IG, TCRS Twitter, TCRS Facebook,

#194:  Jen McIntyre, Head Coach, UConn, visits TCRS.  The 2016 campaign will be McIntyre's second with UConn.  The Huskies will take on a 53-game slate that includes 18 American Athletic Conference contests and 13 home match-ups at Burrill Family Field in Storrs.  The Huskies have a tough non-conference slate that features eight games against five different teams that qualified for the 2015 NCAA Tournament and also four contests against teams that finished last season ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Top-25.  UConn will spend the first two months of the 2016 season on the road to participate in six different tournaments, starting at the LSU Tiger Classic in Baton Rouge, La. from Feb. 12-14. The following weekend, the Huskies head to Boca Raton, Fla. for the FAU Tournament and will face Florida A&M, Northern Illinois and the tourney’s host. From there, Connecticut will hit the west coast for some fun in the sun at the Santa Carla Tourney in California.  Huskies Twitter, Huskies Facebook, Coach McIntyre Twitter, TCRS Twitter, TCRS Facebook

#193:  Melinda Fischer, Head Coach, Illinois State University, visits TCRS.  ISU opens the season at South Florida and will play the first seven weekends of the year away from Marian Kneer Stadium. Illinois State will play four-plus games at South Florida, Arizona State, LSU, Florida and Louisville. This is the first time in history that ISU will take a full spring break trip when they start at Florida and end in Louisville.  The Redbirds open Missouri Valley Conference play at Missouri State March 19 and will play their home opener March 30 versus DePaul.  For all the traveling ISU will do in the first two months of the season, April is kind to the Redbirds on the travel front. Illinois State will not leave the state, playing 14 games at home, two at Bradley and three at Loyola.  Redbirds Twitter, Redbirds Facebook, Coach Fischer Twitter, TCRS Twitter, TCRS Facebook

#192:  Courtney Oliver, Head Coach, East Carolina University, visits TCRS for the first time and for the first show of 2016.  Coach Oliver, a five-time NCAA Regional participant as an assistant coach, was appointed head softball coach at East Carolina University in June 2015. Oliver's hiring made her the fifth head coach in ECU softball program history.  Under Oliver's tutelage, the 2015 NC State pitching staff owned a team ERA of 2.61 to rank 34th in the nation and second in the ACC. NC State pitchers did their job in the circle fanning 441 batters for second in the conference. Additionally, the Wolfpack struck out 94 batters looking to lead the league. ECU will open the 2016 season with the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Arizona and will face Virgina, Seattle, UC Riverside, Arizona State and Nevada. Pirates Twitter, Pirates Facebook, Coach Oliver Twitter TCRS TwitterTCRS Facebook

#191: Robbie Church, Head Coach, Duke University Women's Soccer, visits TCRS to recap Duke's win over William & Mary.  The 2-0 shutout over William & Mary marked the first time since 1997 that Duke has posted four straight shutouts to open the season.  Coach Church will also preview the upcoming Duke Nike Classic which will see Duke face USC (Sep. 4 at 7:30PM) and Cal. (Sep. 6 at 1:30PM)  Both Duke games will air on ESPN3.   Blue Devils Twitter, Blue Devils Facebook.

#190: Former UL Ragin Cajun, Pitchers, Jordan Wallace and Christina Hamilton join TCRS. Wallace earned her 90th career win this season when the Ragin Cajuns defeated Baylor in the Regional Final becoming only the fourth pitcher in program history to reach 90 career wins joining Brooke Mitchell (119), Kyla Hall (104) and Ashley Brignac (94).  Wallace was also named NFCA First-Team All-Region and First-Team All-SBC this season.  Hamilton's best season was 2014 when she led the team to the Women's College World Series.  Hamilton also finished being named NFCA Second-Team All-American, NFCA First-Team All-Region and earned the James J. Corbett Award for the top amateur female athlete in the state of Louisiana.  Hamilton was also tabbed as the Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year and an All-Sun Belt First-Team, Louisiana Sports Writers Association Pitcher of the Year and an All-Louisiana First Team selection.  Jordan Wallace Twitter, Christina Hamilton Twitter.

#189:  Lonni Alameda, Head Coach, Florida State Softball, talks about the NCAA Regional round which saw FSU beat Dartmouth and then UCF twice.  We also talk about the upcoming Super Regional.  Coach Alameda Twitter, FSU Twitter, FSU Facebook

#188: 2015 ACC Coach of the Year , Lonni Alameda, Head Coach, Florida State Softball, joins TCRS to recap the 2015 ACC Conference Tournament, which saw the Noles defeat Boston College, NC State and Pittsburgh.  We also discuss the upcoming NCAA Regionals.  Coach Alameda Twitter, FSU Twitter, FSU Facebook,