SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Hartford softball team continues its tour of the Sunshine State with five games against four opponents, three of which the Hawks have never faced in their 27-year Division I history. Hartford gets the week going on Tuesday when it faces Northwestern at 2:30 p.m. in Clearwater and returns to the diamond on Wednesday with two games in Tampa against North Texas (2:30 p.m.) and South Florida (5:00 p.m.). Hartford will then conclude play in Florida in Daytona Beach when it takes on Bethune-Cookman for a doubleheader at 2:00 p.m.

LEADING HARTFORD: After closing out the USF Spring Break Tournament with a 2-3 mark, Hartford enters its final tour of the Sunshine State with an overall record of 4-9. Peyton Fisher, a rookie, has led the Hawks through 13 games this year with a .341 batting average (14-for-21) and is the team's leader in triples (1), home runs (1), and RBIs (6). Junior Jordan Haines has also belted out one home run this year while classmate Kate Wacyk has connected for six doubles. Siera Sheehan, a veteran pitcher, has suffered just one loss inside of the circle and has earned each of the Hawks' four wins this year. In five complete games, the Binghamton, N.Y. native has gone the distance five times and leads the team with 26 strikeouts.

BACK TO FLORIDA: The Hartford softball team will be spending its spring break in Florida for the eighth-straight year. This is the first time that the Hawks will participate in the USF Spring Break Tournament.

SERIES HISTORY WITH NORTHWESTERN: Hartford has never met up with Northwestern in its 27-year Division I history. The Hawks have faced just two of the 12 current members of the Big Ten Conference, and are 0-4 all-time in those matchups as they are 0-2 against Iowa and 0-2 all-time against Michigan State.

LOOKING AT THE WILDCATS: The Wildcats enter the week with a 9-14 overall record and has played 11 teams that appeared in the nation's top-25 rankings. Against those teams, Northeastern is 2-9, boasting wins against then-ranked #17 Texas A&M (6-3) and then-ranked #11 Missouri (7-1). In recent action, the Wildcats went 2-5 at the USF Spring Break Tournament where they opened the weekend with a victory over Fairfield, and after falling to #24 South Florida, #21 Florida State and Chattanooga, they grabbed a triumph in their final game against LIU. At the plate, the Wildcats are led by Emily Allard who has gone 37-for-89 (.416) while leading the team in runs (17) and doubles (3). Marisa Bast, who has seen 10 of her 29 hits go for extra-bases with two doubles, two trips and six home runs, leads Northwestern with 24 RBIs and is batting .408. Inside of the circle, Northwestern's pitching staff is allowing its opponents to bat .251. Lamberth Meghan and Amy Letourneau each own a 4-6 record. In six complete games and 73.0 innings, Lamberth has struck out 39 batters and has an ERA of 2.88 while Letourneau leads the team with 50 strikeouts, throwing for three complete games in seven starts. She enters Tuesday's contest with a 6.51 ERA.

SERIES HISTORY WITH NORTH TEXAS: Wednesday will mark another first-time meeting for the Hawks as they have never faced Northern Texas in their 27 years Division I history. The Hawks have squared off against four teams in the Sun Belt Conference, which currently has nine-members. Against those teams, Hartford is 0-13 all-time. The Hawks have faced Florida Atlantic (0-4), Florida International (0-6), Middle Tennessee (0-1) and Troy (0-2).

LOOKING AT THE MEAN GREEN: The Big Green, who are 11-14 overall, are led by Maddelyn Fraley who is batting .347 (25-for-72) with nine of her hits going for extra bags including a team-best seven home runs. With a .667 slugging percentage, she has scored 11 runs, has driven in 18 and leads the team with 17 walks. Lisa Johnson and Caitlin Grimes are both second on the team with a .312 bat, both going 24-for-77 on the season. Johnson has belted out eight extra base hits, including four doubles, one triple and three long balls, and leads the team with 20 runs while Grimes is North Texas' RBI leader with 20. She adds six home runs on the season. The Big Green have belted out eight more home runs than their opponents (24-16), however, their opposition is batting six points better (.259 vs. .265). Four players have earned starts inside of the circle for North Texas, led by Brittany Simmons. With an overall record of 7-5, Simmons has started 13 times, going the distance in four of those outings, and owns a 2.52 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 83.1 innings. Ashley Kirk (2-7) has thrown for 53.2 innings and leads the Big Green with 55 strikeouts.

SERIES HISTORY WITH USF: The Hawks and Bulls will engage a new series on Wednesday as the two teams have never met in both programs' Division I histories. Against the 13 teams that currently comprise the Big East Conference, the Hawks are 8-36-1 all-time, having faced Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Providence, Seton Hall and St. John's. Hartford holds winning records against the Pirates (2-1) and the Red Storm (5-2) but are 0-1 against Pittsburg, 0-18-1 against the Connecticut Huskies and 11-14 all-time when playing the Providence Friars.

LOOKING AT THE BULLS: Currently ranked 22nd in the NFCA-USA Today Division I polls and winners of seven of their last eight games, the Bulls enter the week with an impressive overall mark of 25-5 and are 16-2 when playing on their home field in Tampa. Gina Kafalas has paced USF's offense, which has combined to outscore its opponents by a margin of 120-45, with a .347 batting average (34-for-98) and has swiped a team-best eight bases in 10 attempts. With a .320 average, Kenshyra Jackson has notched 10 extra base hits, including six doubles, one triple and three homers, and leads the team with 21 RBIs. Sara Nevins, a sophomore lefty, has been stellar inside of the circle this season for the Bulls. She has clamped down on her opposition, holding them to a stingy .172 batting average. In 12 starts, she as hurled seven complete games, and is 13-2 and with four saves on the season, she is ranked second in the nation. She leads the team with a 0.62 ERA, the fourth-best in NCAA Division I, and 148 strikeouts, 20th in the nation.

SERIES HISTORY WITH BUTHUNE-COOKMAN: The Hawks and Wildcats have met just two times prior to the Thursday's twinbill with Bethune-Cookman holding the advantage at 2-0. The two teams last played in the 1999 season on March 19. The Wildcats squeezed by the Hawks, 3-2, in the opening game before taking a 6-4 decision in game two.

LOOKING AT THE WILDCATS: The Wildcats (10-20) have won five-straight at Sunnyland Park in Daytona Beach and enter the week looking to keep a four-game win streak intact. During its win streak, Bethune-Cookman has give up just two unearned runs. Michelle Banuelos-Smith leads the Wildcats with six home runs and 33 hits while Sabrina Ferguson has knocked-in 18 runs, a team-best. Banuelos also boasts a .384 batting average with 18 runs scored and seven doubles while Ferguson has gone for extra bases 11 times including a team-best eight doubles. At the plate, Tolbert has thrown 18 complete games, leading the Wildcats to all 10 of their wins with a mark of 10-15. She has fanned 40 batters and owns an ERA of 5.26. As a team, Bethune-Cookman is batting .260 while its opposition is hitting at a clip of .343.

LAST TIME OUT: The Hawks played five games at the USF Spring Break Tournament and finished 2-3 on the weekend. Hartford opened with a 1-0 victory over Coastal Carolina on Friday and after dropping three-straight to Chattanooga, Dartmouth and Colgate, the Hawks rebounded for a 3-2 defeat of Colgate on Sunday. Senior hurler Siera Sheehan led the way for Hartford, making three starts and earning both of her team's wins during that span, including her second shutout of the season in Friday's victory over Coastal. She combined for 13 strikeouts and a 1.40 ERA at the Tournament. Senior Erica Phelps led Hartford at the plate going 5-for-12 (.417) during the three-day stretch.

COMING UP: Hartford returns to the Northeast and will begin America East Conference play this weekend at Stony Brook. The Hawks and Seawolves are slated to play a doubleheader on Saturday, with the first pitch of the day being thrown at 1:00 p.m., and will conclude the three-game series on Sunday with a single game at 12:00 p.m. Last season, Hartford clinched the series, 2-1, in West Hartford.

PETYON CLAIMS WEEKLY HONOR: Just one day after making her debut in a Hartford Hawks uniform, Peyton Fisher picked up the first America East weekly award for a Hawk this season when she was tabbed the league's Rookie of the Week March 5. Fisher enjoyed a hot bat in her first two games as a collegian as she led the Hawks at the plate against Central Connecticut State on Sunday. She combined to bat a blistering .714 (5-for-7), belting a homer and double while scoring three runs for Hartford.

ALMOST PERFECT: Senior pitcher Siera Sheehan fell just one inning short of hurling a shutout in the Hawks' 2012 season opener at Central Connecticut State on March 4. She threw six scoreless innings in that game, scattering just five hits during that stretch.