ST. LOUIS, MO. - Experience and talent won't be lacking as the No. 18 ranked University of Missouri-St. Louis softball team looks to build off one of the most successful seasons in program history when the Tritons open the 2014 season this weekend in Bentonville, Ark., at the Arkansas-Monticello 8-State Classic.
 
UMSL begins play on Friday at 11:30 a.m. against Southern Nazarene and wraps up a six-game weekend schedule on Sunday. Among the games on the docket is a meeting with No. 1 ranked and defending NCAA Division II national champion Central Oklahoma on Saturday. The Tritons defeated the Bronchos (then ranked No. 16), 3-0, in last year's season opener.
 
Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Brian Levin, UMSL returns eight starters, along with its top two pitchers, from a squad that went 41-13 last year, winning the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship and advancing to the NCAA Midwest Regional.
 
Headlining the returnees is All-American Hannah Perryman, the 2013 GLVC Pitcher of the Year. As a freshman, she led NCAA Division II in strikeouts with 352, while her 12.2 strikeouts per seven innings also topped the national rankings. Perryman finished the year 24-6 with a 1.55 ERA.
 
Also returning to the circle is junior Brittni Chapman, a First Team All-GLVC honoree last season, in which she posted a 17-7 record and a 1.19 ERA.
 
Offensively, junior catcher Madison Zbaraschuk posted a team-best .371 batting average and set a single season RBI record (54), while tying a single season home runs record (12) en route to earning Second Team All-GLVC and Second Team All-Region accolades.
 
Junior first baseman Brianna Butler earned First Team All-GLVC honors for the second straight year after batting .339, while recording 55 hits, including eight double and eight homeruns to go with 32 RBIs.
 
Junior second baseman Katie Wood was also a First Team All-GLVC selection after batting .276 with 45 hits, including 12 doubles and eight homeruns.
 
Outfielder Ashleigh King is the lone senior on the squad and returns after earning Second Team All-GLVC honors after a season in which she batted .320, recording 55 hits and scoring a team-high 41 runs.
 
Also returning to the outfield are juniors Jena Boudreau and Katie Rutledge. Boudreau recorded 45 hits, including a team-best 13 doubles, while batting .273 en route to earning Second Team All-GLVC honors, while Rutledge batted .266 with 29 hits and 17 runs scored.
 
Other returning starters include sophomores Mckenzie Halstead and Katie Schultz. Halstead started 42 of the 45 games she played in at third base, while Schultz worked her way into the lineup as a designated hitter, batting .286 with 38 hits.
 
Along with three other returning letterwinners, Levin also welcomes the addition of five freshmen.