Softball Announces 2019 Spring Schedule - University of Memphis Athletics

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis softball team and head coach Natalie Poole announced the 2019 spring schedule Tuesday morning. Much like last year, the Tigers will open their season on the road with three straight tournaments before returning home for three scheduled tournaments.

In addition to the preseason tournaments, highlights in the Memphis schedule include seven conference series, a home-and-home with Mississippi State, and single games against Oklahoma State and Ole Miss.

"We needed our schedule to support our plan of not only winning an American Athletic Conference Championship, but also to gain an at-large for the NCAA tournament," said Poole. "We feel that our spring schedule will provide the opponents we need to face to put us in that position. Our opponents will present our younger team challenges throughout the season. Our preseason tournaments and midweeks will allow us to see tough competitors from different conferences that will prepare us for our tough foes in conference."

The season begins on Feb. 8 in Miami, Florida at the Florida International Tournament. The Tigers will take on Bryant, Michigan State, and host school FIU. The following weekend in Fort Myers, Florida features two games against Florida Gulf Coast and single games against FIU and Lamar. The final road preseason tournament is in Baton Rouge where Memphis will compete against stiff competition in Cal-Northridge, LSU, Stanford, and Michigan.

Memphis' home tournaments begin on March 1 and will run the first three weekends of March. Opponents during the early parts of March include Sam Houston State, UT Martin, Central Arkansas, DePaul, Murray State and Texas Tech as well as others.

The first game of the home-and-home against Mississippi State is scheduled for Feb. 27 in Memphis. The game in Starkville, Mississippi will be on April 10.

The single game against Ole Miss is set between the second and third Memphis tournaments on March 13. That game will be played in Oxford, Mississippi. The Tigers defeated Ole Miss last season by a score of 9-4 at the Tigers Softball Complex for the first-ever win in Memphis against the Rebels.

Conference play for Memphis begins on March 22 in Memphis against ECU. Home series for the Tigers during AAC play include ECU, Wichita State, Houston, and UCF.

"It is so great to compete in a conference that finished last season with an RPI of fourth in the nation," added Poole. "We will need to be ready to compete for our lives from game number one and I can't wait to get started on that journey."

Additional non-conference games for Memphis are Murray State on March 27, Alcorn State on April 2, UT Martin on April 23, and North Alabama on April 30.

The season will culminate with the American Athletic Conference Tournament hosted by Houston on May 10-12. All eight teams qualify for the conference tournament.

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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