Softball Announces 2017 Schedule

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis softball team and head coach Natalie Poole announce the 2017 spring schedule Friday afternoon. The Tigers will host three tournaments and have 27 home contests throughout the season.

Throughout the year, Memphis will compete against five schools in Power Five conferences in Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss. In all, five non-conference opponents (Florida Atlantic, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, and Fordham) qualified for the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

"We are excited about our spring schedule and the type of opponents we will be facing on the field day in and day out," said Poole. "This is what we have been and are currently preparing for every day this fall. We need to be challenged on the field during the preseason to prepare for the tough conference matchups we will face weekly."

Memphis starts off the season with three straight tournaments on the road, starting with a tournament hosted by Florida International on Feb. 10-12. The Tigers will take on Ball State, Fordham and FIU, twice, in the event. The next two tournaments for Memphis are the DeMarini Desert Classic hosted by UNLV on Feb. 17-18 and the FAU Invitational hosted by Florida Atlantic on Feb. 25-26.

The Tigers then return home for their three tournaments, The Blue's City Classic (March 3-5), the UofM Softball Tournament (March 10-12), and the Tiger Classic (March 17-18). In that span, Memphis will welcome Belmont, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Wright State, Louisiana Tech, Tennessee State, Oakland, Buffalo, Indiana, Lipscomb, Western Illinois, St. Louis, and Eastern Kentucky.

In between Memphis' second and third tournaments, the Tigers will welcome Texas A&M to the Tigers Softball Complex on March 14.

Additional home non-conference games for Memphis are against Central Arkansas on March 28, Austin Peay on March 29, and Alcorn State on April 26. Memphis will travel to Belmont on March 21, UT Martin on April 4, Ole Miss on April 12 and Murray State on April 18.

The 2017 American Athletic Conference schedule features three home series for Memphis. The Tigers host East Carolina in the conference opener on March 24-26, Central Florida on April 7-9, and Houston on April 28-30. Memphis will travel to Tulsa, USF, and UConn.

The season will culminate with the American Athletic Conference Tournament hosted by East Carolina on May 11-13. All seven teams qualify for the conference tournament.

"We look forward to hosting many more home games this season than we have in the past few years," added Poole. "Our student-athletes enjoy playing in front of our home fans, so to have three home weekends back to back in the preseason will great for them and our fans. Our team is going to be a more mature team than we have put on the field in the past few years, and they we look forward to a truly successful year."

Memphis has five seniors on the roster this season in Lindsay Crowdus, Hannah Harrell, Calli Irvin, Brittany Seale, and Lindsey Stickrod. Crowdus, Stickrod and Seale were three of the top four hitters from last year's team. Harrell led the Tigers in on base percentage and also set the all-time record for stolen bases in a season with 27. She is also just eight stolen bases shy of the all-time Memphis career record.

For more information on the Memphis softball team, follow the team on Twitter (@MemphisSoftball) and Facebook (@MemphisSoftball).

University of Memphis Athletics

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Lindsay Crowdus

Hannah Harrell

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Brittany Seale

Lindsey Stickrod

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