Maryland Softball Announces 2016 Schedule
11/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Highlighted by 18 home games including the Maryland Invitational, Maryland softball head coach Julie Wright announced the 2016 schedule on Tuesday.
The slate features 11 teams that appeared in the 2015 NCAA Tournament including three (Oregon, Alabama, and Michigan) that made it to the Women's College World Series. Maryland will also matchup against five of its opponents for the first time.
“It's coming to the end of a great offseason and we are really excited to get out on the field together in February,” said Wright. “The preseason tournaments are extremely challenging and we are ready to come out and play hard. These tournaments will get us ready and prepared for Big Ten Conference play.”
The Terrapins will spend their first five weekends on the road. Maryland will open up its season out west, at the Kajikawa Classic on the campus of Arizona State University where the Terps will play 2015 World Series participant Oregon, former ACC rival Boston College, and first time opponents Boise State, Utah State, and San Diego. This trip will serve as a homecoming for the eight Terps who hail from the west coast.
“We're going to some great places,” Wright said. “I'm super excited to be able to take our team out and explore some fantastic schools and institutions."
Maryland will travel to the Peach State for the Georgia State Tournament, Feb 19-21. This tournament features two games against perennial powerhouse Alabama.
A trip to Boca Raton, Fla. for the FAU Tournament, Feb 26-28 will wrap up the month of February. This is the ninth straight season that Maryland has played at Florida Atlantic. This tournament will provide games against Boston University, Columbia, Stony Brook, and FAU.
The first weekend of March brings a short trip to the nation's capital for the Terps. Maryland will play four games in the District Invite, March 6-8, which will be played at the Nationals Youth Academy and the campus of George Washington.
Maryland's first ever trip to Oklahoma will take place from March 11-13 for the OU Invitational in Norman, Okla. The Terps will take on 2015 Super Regional team and host Oklahoma, in addition to BYU and Saint Louis.
The Terrapins will open up their 2016 home schedule with the 2016 Maryland Invitational from March 18-20. Maryland will welcome Massachusetts, North Dakota State, Boston University, Ball State and Binghamton to College Park.
Maryland opens up Big Ten Conference play in Columbus, Ohio with a three-game set against Ohio State. This will follow with the Terrapins longest home stand of the year, eight games in College Park. Big Ten opponents Nebraska (Apr 1-3) and Michigan State (Apr 8-10) will make their first trips to College Park, sandwiched with a midweek doubleheader against St. Francis (PA) on April 5th.
“We have a tough Big Ten schedule this year,” said Julie Wright. “We are going to have to compete every pitch, every minute with everyone. Playing teams like Michigan, Minnesota, and Nebraska provide great opportunities for us.”
The Terps will hit the road for the next three weekends for a trio series at Penn State (Apr 15-17), Michigan (Apr 22-24), and Minnesota (Apr 29-May 1).
The final five home games of the year will include a midweek double-dip against Rutgers (Apr 20) and a weekend series against Indiana (May 6-8).
The 2016 Big Ten Softball Championship will take place May 12-14 at Penn State University. The winner of the tournament earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Softball Championship.
