Sept. 2, 2006

OXFORD, Ohio - New stadium. New head coach. New era.

The Miami University softball team and first-year head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly are set to debut the new $4.5 million Miami Softball Stadium Saturday, Sept. 30 when the RedHawks host the Louisville Cardinals in an 11 a.m. fall doubleheader. In a meeting between the past and the future of Miami softball, Schoenly makes her head coaching debut against current Louisville and former Miami mentor Sandy Pearsall, who amassed 107 wins with the Red and White from 1993-98.

Located between Yager Stadium and Millett Hall, the new home of the Miami softball program ranks as one of the finest softball facilities in the nation. With room for more than 500 spectators, the stadium offers a variety of seating options. Fixed seating is available in three sections behind home plate and along the rightfield line, with the outfield seating wrapping around from the foul pole to the middle of rightfield. Also available are open grass seating sections above both the home and visitor dugouts, providing fans with an intimate view of RedHawk softball. In addition, night softball games are now an option at the new Miami Softball Stadium, as six light standards will allow the RedHawks to play the first home night games in program history.

The new stadium also features an inning-by-inning scoreboard beyond the wall in right centerfield, with a scrolling message board at the bottom. Located next to the scoreboard is an indoor training facility, complete with two full-length batting cages. The visitor and home bullpens at the new stadium are located down the leftfield line and beyond the rightfield wall, respectively, and the outfield wall is complete with a windscreen and yellow padding, which runs the full length of the fence. The stadium also is equipped with a state-of-the-art pressbox with Internet capabilities and seating for 10.

The RedHawks are slated to host six games during the 2006 fall season at the new Miami Softball Stadium, including the Miami Fall Invitational Oct. 7-8. After its Sept. 30 doubleheader with the Cardinals, the RedHawks play three games at the Ohio Charity Classic in Columbus (Oct. 1) before closing out their nine-game fall slate with their fall tournament. At the Miami Fall Invitational, Miami is slated to face Dayton (10 a.m.) and Eastern Kentucky (2 p.m.) on Saturday, Oct. 7, and Ohio State (4 p.m.) and Northern Kentucky (6 p.m.) on Sunday, Oct. 8.

Schoenly, who on June 29 was named the eighth head coach in program history, brings 11 seasons of Big Ten coaching experience to Oxford. A two-time Big Ten Pitcher of the Year during her playing career at Michigan, Schoenly inherits a Miami team that has advanced to the finals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament in three of the past four seasons and won the tournament in 2005, earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Over the past four seasons, the RedHawks have produced 11 all-MAC selections, four all-region honorees and averaged 27 wins.