The Rockhurst softball team will open the 2016 season this weekend in the inaugural NCAA Division II Gulf Coast Invitational at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

The Hawks will open play Friday with two games against Midwestern State at 2:15 p.m. and Mobile (Ala.) at 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, Rockhurst will face Southern Nazarene at 10 a.m. and Union (Tenn.) at 4:45 p.m. The Hawks will conclude the tournament on Sunday against Alabama-Huntsville at 9 a.m.

Rockhurst finished 28-22 last season, tying the school record for most wins in a season. The Hawks were picked eighth in the 16-team Great Lakes Valley Conference after a 16-14 league record and No. 8 seed in the GLVC Tournament in 2015.

The Hawks return All-GLVC selections in junior pitcher Bridgette Sappington and sophomore outfielder Madison Wagner. Sappington ranked fifth in the league last season with a 1.87 ERA while compiling a 22-13 record. Wagner tied for the conference lead with six triples and ranked second with 36 stolen bases while leading the Hawks with a .360 average at the plate. Junior catcher Lexie Zuniga also returns after batting .299 with a team-high eight home runs and 20 RBIs last year.

Head coach Galen Struve has guided Rockhurst to a 213-285 record (.428) and four GLVC Tournament appearances since starting the program in 2005.