All the fielding drills, time in the batting cages, throwing on and off the mound, facing live pitching and early morning workouts beginning at 6 a.m. have led to this.
 
The long-awaited Alabama State softball season is finally here and the Chris Steiner-Wilcoxson coaching era will open Friday with two games scheduled in the Troy Tournament. 
 
It will be Steiner-Wilcoxson's debut with the Lady Hornets after leading Auburn-Montgomery to a 44-7 record and a NAIA Championship last season. 

She brings over her coaching staff that was awarded the National Fast Pitch Softball Association Coaching Staff of the Year award. 

Her career record of 318-177-2 in nine collegiate seasons with AUM and Reinhardt College (Ga.) has showed that she's been a proven winner.   
 
"I can be demanding and intense as a coach, but I'm really looking to make our players work hard and get them prepared for success here and when they get out into the real world," Steiner-Wilcoxson said. 
 
The Lady Hornets will play Buffalo (30-22 record in 2014) at noon and will follow with a game against North Florida (26-23 record in 2014) at 5 p.m. 

Both games will be at played at the Troy Softball Complex. 
 
To listen to the web cast of the Buffalo and North Florida games, go to http://www.bamastatesports.com/watch/?Live=256.
 
The North Florida game will also be carried by Heritage Sports Radio Network (HSRN).   

The HSRN platform includes HSRN.com and the HSRN mobile app, as well as over-the-air radio affiliates in more than 20 cities nationwide, and on all tablets, Xbox, PlayStation and Wii devices.
 
The tournament will continue on Saturday with their first game against Florida A&M (25-29 in 2014) at 4 p.m. at the Troy Sportsplex followed by a game with Western Kentucky (33-24-1) at 7:30 p.m. with a return to the Troy Softball Complex.
 
The fifth game of the tournament will conclude with a second game against Western Kentucky on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at the Troy Softball Complex. 
 
Live stats will be available for all games.   

Here are the links below:   
 
Buffalo game: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=83137
North Florida game:  http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=83139
Florida A&M game: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=83145
Western Kentucky game one: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=83142
Western Kentucky game two: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=83144
 
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