Softball releases 2018 schedule

11/09/2017 | 10:23:00 | Softball

By: Tony McDaniel, SIUSalukis.com

Full Schedule

The defending Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Champion Salukis released their 2018 schedule today.

The Salukis will open their season in San Antonio, Texas at the UTSA Softball Classic on February 9. At the tournament, the Salukis will face Abilene Christian, Seton Hall, Texas A&M - Corpus Christi and the host school, Texas – San Antonio.

The following weekend, the Salukis will be challenged by strong opponents at the Gamecock Invitational in Columbia, South Carolina. The tournament will feature Georgetown, Mercer, Michigan State and 2017 NCAA Tournament participant, South Carolina. Michigan State and South Carolina both ranked inside the top-100 in RPI in 2017. The Salukis defeated Michigan State last year 4-2 at a tournament hosted by Eastern Michigan in Madeira Beach, Florida.

Following the Gamecock Invitational, Southern will travel to Fort Meyers, Florida for its first of two trips to the state in less than a month for a tournament hosted by Florida Gulf Coast. The Salukis will face FGCU, Connecticut, Wright State and Stony Brook at the tournament. The Salukis have found success against those teams; Southern is a combined 9-2 all-time against those programs. The schedule for this tournament is not completed as of this release.

From March 2-4, the Salukis host the annual Coach B Classic at Charlotte West Stadium. Illinois, Murray State and Northern Illinois will all travel to Carbondale to participate in the event. NIU and Murray both played in the Coach B Classic in 2017. This will be the first time the Salukis and Illini have faced each other since 2011.

From March 9-11, Southern will play in its final tournament in Tampa, Florida. At the tournament Southern will play Delaware State, Quinnipiac, Rider, UCF and Maine. Central Florida was 63^rd in RPI in 2017. Southern is 4-1 all time against the Golden Knights.

On March 17, the Salukis open Missouri Valley Conference play against Loyola at home. The following weekend, the Salukis will host co-MVC regular season champions, Illinois State. The Salukis won three out of four games against the Redbirds in 2017. Their final victory of the year against Illinois State came in the MVC Tournament semi-finals in Normal.

On March 30-31, the Salukis will travel to Valparaiso in their first games against the newcomers to the MVC. The following Tuesday, Southern will travel to Edwardsville for a showdown against sister school, SIUE. The Cougars went 41-13 and were the 44^th team in RPI in 2017.

From April 7-8, the Salukis will make their first trip of two to Des Moines, Iowa to take on Drake. The Bulldogs were fifth in the MVC last season, but will get the 2016 MVC Pitcher of the Year back in Nicole Newman. Newman missed all of the 2017 conference schedule due to an elbow injury. Blaylock said she expects the weekend to be a showcase of some of the best pitching in the conference from both teams.
Southern will play Missouri State in two midweek games this season. The first game will be on Wednesday, April 18 in Springfield. The Lady Bears will come to Carbondale for the second leg of the series on April 23.

The Salukis close the Conference schedule in what could be a huge series in terms a MVC Tournament seeding. SIU will host UNI May 5-6 in a rematch of last year's conference championship game. Southern won that matchup 4-3 over the co-regular season champion Panthers.

The season culminates in the MVC Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa on May 10-13. Drake will play host to the tournament. Southern will look to clinch their second-straight NCAA Tournament bid with back-to-back MVC titles at the Tournament.

Southern's season opens on February 9 in San Antonio, Texas against Abilene Christian and Texas – San Antonio.