PARKERSBURG - Ohio Valley University's baseball and softball squads will get their respective seasons under way today on the road.

The OVU softball team of head coach Brian Howard is scheduled to play a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. today against host Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn.

"We're excited to go play," said Howard, whose team has not been on a field yet and is coming off an 8-16 record in the West Virginia Conference and a 14-37 overall mark.

"It's tough being inside. This gives us an opportunity to see some live pitching and actually have some game situations to see where we are and where we need to be."

The Fighting Scot baseball program, 11-35 overall and 4-11 in their division a year ago, is led by coach Bob Crawford. OVU is heading to North Carolina to play Brevard.

OVU has a doubleheader scheduled today with two seven-inning games and then a third game on Sunday in a nine-inning affair.

The baseball team has several top returning players in sophomore catcher Jake Kight, senior first baseman John Ortiz and senior outfielder Kellen Shepard.

Ortiz led the team a year ago with 13 homers, 50 runs-batted-in and a .431 on-base average. Kight's .345 batting average bested Ortiz' .338 clip for tops on the team. Shepard hit .293 and finished with three homers and 19 RBIs.

Coach Howard is hoping his still relatively young softball program can make some strides this year and if that's to happen it will be because of pitching.

"It's nice to have a staff to call on," said the coach. "We've got two strong pitchers in a staff of four.

"We've got four solid pitchers who will help us stay healthy and be consistent throughout the year."

Freshman left-hander Raegan Turner from Canada and junior right-hander Sarah Davidson, who made the all-tournament team as a freshman, will be expected to carry the load. Davidson missed most of last year due to injury.

Despite losses to graduation Howard said, "I think we really replaced those kids very well and I think we'll be strong one through nine."

A pair of second team all-WVIAC selections return for coach Howard in senior shortstop Jaci Miller and sophomore first baseman Preet Dhillon.

Miller, a Ripley High School graduate, was hurt in late March last year but still hit four homers and batted .450.

The power in the lineup will come from Dhillon, who smacked nine bombs last year while collecting 34 RBIs and hitting .336.

Coach Howard also is expecting big things from honorable mention WVIAC pick Alyssa Davis, a sophomore third baseman who played for Parkersburg, and sophomore utility player Tabitha Hill, a graduate of Parkersburg South.

"We've improved the last few years and this is our year, I think, to put everything together," Howard added.