WILMINGTON, North Carolina - The UNCW softball program begins the Kristy Norton era this weekend as it welcomes Detroit, Iona and Nebraska-Omaha to Boseman Field for the UNCW Beach Blast.

Tournament Schedule

The UNCW Beach Blast will feature a total of 10 games played over three days. All teams are scheduled to play five games during the tournament. A complete tournament schedule is listed below.

Staying Connected

Live stats will be available for 10 game of the UNCW Beach Blast and can be accessed by clicking here ... Fans can also keep up with the UNCW softball program by checking out the program's Facebook (UNCW Softball) and Twitter (@UNCWsoftball) accounts or the department's Facebook (UNCWsports) and Twitter (@UNCWAthletics) pages.

Seahawk Storylines

• UNCW begins the Kristy Norton era this weekend with the UNCW Beach Blast. Norton took over the program last June following a successful seven-year stint as both an assistant/associate head coach at James Madison.
• The Seahawks welcome back 10 letterwinners and seven starters from last season's squad and welcome eight newcomers into the fold, including three transfers.
• Senior shortstop Lauryn Buckworth is back after pacing the UNCW lineup with a .280 batting average, 37 hits and 49 total bases in 2012. Buckworth ranked second on the team with 11 RBI.
• CAA All-Rookie Team selection Jordan Critcher also returns following a freshman season that saw her fashion a .273 batting average while drawing a team-best 26 walks. Critcher was also solid in the field, committing just six errors in 330 total chances at first base for a .982 fielding percentage.
• Sophomore hurler Casey Rowland makes her way back into the circle for the Seahawks after recording a team-high 139 strikeouts in 143 innings pitched during her freshman season. Rowland made 31 appearances and 24 starts in 2012 and posted 15 complete games and one save.
• UNCW was picked to finish eighth in the Colonial Athletic Association's preseason coaches' poll. Defending regular season and tournament champion Hofstra was picked to repeat while Georgia State was tabbed second and James Madison was slotted third.
• The Seahawks will play a 55-game schedule in 2013 that features 27 home games, 17 road contests and 11 neutral-site matchups. UNCW will host two in-season tournaments this season; beginning its regular season with the UNCW Beach Bash (Feb. 8-10) before wrapping up the opening month of the season with the Seahawk Classic (Feb. 22-24).
• The Seahawks are slated to face four teams that advanced to the 2012 NCAA Tournament this season as UNCW will square off against NCAA Tournament participants Iona, Florida, Hofstra and Tennessee during the regular season. Both Hofstra and Tennessee advance to the Super Regionals last season, with Tennessee earning a spot in the Women's College World Series.

Scouting Detroit

• Detroit welcomes back six starters and 11 letterwinners from last season's squad that posted a 10-40 overall record and 2-19 mark in Horizon League play.
• Junior Sara Cupp returns to the Titans lineup after a sophomore season that saw her post a .287 batting average that included a team-high nine home runs and 33 RBI.
• Junior pitcher Karyn McCarty is back to anchor the Detroit pitching staff. McCarty led the Titans rotation in appearances (33), innings pitched (146.0) and strikeouts (66) in 2012.
• Liz Young is in her first season as Head Coach of the Detroit program. She took over the Titans program after two seasons as an assistant at Western Illinois.

Series Notes Versus Detroit

• UNCW trails in the all-time series against Detroit by a 6-5 margin.
• The two teams are meeting for the first time since squaring off against each other in a pair of neutral-site games in Cullowhee, N.C., during the 2007 season. The Titans took both of those contests, posting victories of 8-7 and 7-1 over the Seahawks in tournament play.
• The 11 previous meetings between the two programs have been at neutral sites. Eight of those contests took place in Florida at the Rebel Games.

Scouting Iona

• Picked to finish fifth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, Iona returns 13 letterwinners from last season's squad that captured the program's third straight MAAC Tournament title.
• Senior outfielders Eileen McCann and Jodi Peterson were both named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team. McCann led the Gaels with a .331 batting average a season ago, while ranking second on the squad with seven home runs. Petersen, meanwhile, hit .290 over a team leading 207 at-bats in 2012, scoring 26 runs and driving in 19 more. Peterson also led the team with 15 stolen bases.
• The Gaels pitching staff will have to overcome the loss of departed seniors Alyssa Maiese and Sarah Jackson, who combined to start all but one of the team's 61 contests last season and pitched 407.2 of the team's 420.1 innings in the field.
• Melissa Inouye is in her first season as head coach of the Gaels program. Inouye took over the Iona program last July after spending the 2012 season at Fordham.

Series Notes Versus Iona

• UNCW and Iona will face each other for just the second time and third time in series history this weekend.
• The two sides met for the first time on Feb. 12, 2011 at the Charlotte 49 Round Robin, a game the Gaels won by a 7-5 margin.

Scouting Nebraska-Omaha

• Embarking on their first season of competition at the Division I level, Nebraska-Omaha returns five starters and three pitchers from its 2012 squad that posted a 24-18 overall record.
• Junior Amber Lutner is back in the lineup after pacing the Mavs' with a .333 batting average, 11 home runs and 43 RBI in 2012. Lutmer also drew a team-best 22 walks a season ago.
• Dana Elsasser is back to lead the Mavericks pitching staff after a sophomore season that saw her fashion a 1.07 ERA in 151.0 innings pitched. Elsasser recorded eight shutouts and struck out 100 while only issuing 32 walks.
• Jeanne Scarpello is in her 14th season as head coach of the UNO program. Scarpello has led the Mavs' to a 563-181-1 overall record and 12 consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament appearances (2000-11).

Series Notes Versus Nebraska-Omaha

Friday's game at the UNCW Beach Blast will serve as the first contest between UNCW and Nebraska-Omaha.

Up Next

UNCW travels to Gainesville, Fla., to face Charleston Southern, Florida, Savannah State and Western Carolina at the Florida Lipton Invitational.