Rochester John Marshall at Rochester Mayo
5 p.m., Thursday, April 16

Rochester Mayo finished second in the Big Nine standings last season with a 15-3 record. The Spartans, who went 18-6 overall, lost five seniors - mostly from their infield - but return seven veterans, including sophomore Sarah Lisko who will take on most of the pitching duties.

Rochester John Marshall is in rebuilding mode after losing 10 seniors and returning just two starters -- freshman Abby Gee and senior Nicole Stokes -- but began the season with a 10-1 win over Owatonna. The Rockets had hot bats early on, scoring four runs off five hits in the first inning, and took advantage of five errors by Owatonna.