The Spring Hill College baseball and softball teams open their 2018 campaigns with games on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 2 and 3).

The SHC baseball team will play a three-game series Friday and Saturday against Auburn University-Montgomery at Stan Galle Field on the SHC campus, while the Lady Badgers are set to play four opponents at a tournament in Gulf Shores.

The baseball Badgers, who finished with a 29-20 record a year ago, face AUM at 3 p.m. on Friday, then square off again with a doubleheader beginning at noon on Saturday.

Spring Hill is once again being led by its longtime head coach, Frank Sims, who made his SHC debut with three weeks remaining in the 1985 season, according to SHC Sports Information. Since then, his teams have won 851 games, giving Sims a career total of 887 wins. His Badgers have accumulated 24 20-win seasons, six 30-win seasons, two 40-win seasons and four conference championships.

For the Lady Badgers’ softball team, it’s a new start, with legendary former South Alabama baseball coach Steve Kittrell making a return as head coach. Kittrell built a career record of 1052–644–1 (.620) in 25 seasons as the head baseball coach at USA from 1984 to 2011 following one season as the Badger head baseball coach in 1983.

SHC softball faces Shorter University Friday at 2:30 at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex, followed by a 4:45 game against the University of Alabama-Hunstville. On Saturday, the Lady Badgers play Lee University of Tennessee at 1:30 p.m., before taking on the University of Mobile at 3:45 p.m.

For more information, see this season preview of the Lady Badgers from SHC Sports Information.