The Massachusetts softball team opens its 2008 season this weekend in Boca Raton, Fla., for the Florida Atlantic Kick-off Classic.

The three-day tournament marks the first of four early-season tournaments the Minutewomen will play in warmer climates.

UMass opens the tournament against 12th-ranked Michigan today at 9 a.m. and continues at 1 p.m. against Maryland.

The tourney continues on Saturday against North Florida at 9 a.m. and then South Carolina at 11 a.m. The championship round will take place Sunday.

Last year at the FAU Kick-off Classic, UMass lost a pair of two-run games to UC Santa Barbara and No. 6 Oregon, but rebounded with a 1-0 win over No. 10 California and a 16-1 beating of San Diego State.

The Minutewomen’s final game against Kanasa was rained out, ending in a 1-1 tie.

UMass returns seven starters from last year’s squad, including junior pitcher Brandice Balschmiter (29-10, 1.39 ERA, 269 strikeouts in 2007) and senior second baseman Stacy Cullington (.313 BA, 15 home runs, 54 RBIs).

The only positions seeing new faces are centerfield and first base, where Candice Molinari and Amanda Morin were lost to graduation.

Jeremy Rice can be reached at [email protected].