Kansas releases 2019 softball schedule
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Twenty one home games and two home tournaments highlight the 2019 Kansas softball schedule announced by the team Monday morning.
“We are excited for the competition and challenges we will face early in the season, and have our focus set on February 8 against Oregon in Arizona,” said head coach Jennifer McFalls. “The first month of the season will be a grind, playing 20 games through four tournaments, all on the road.”
The Jayhawks open the season Feb. 8-10 at the Kajikawa Tournament in Tempe, Arizona, playing Oregon and Stanford on the first day of the regular season. Following competition against the two Pac-12 teams, KU is slated to face Arizona State, Utah and Missouri over the final two days of competition.
After its trek out west, KU takes its talents to Kissimmee, Florida to battle in the D9 Citrus Blossom, facing UMASS, Iowa, Providence, Bethune-Cookman and Missouri (Feb. 15-17).
Kansas continues its near-month long road competition playing a field that consists of Tennessee, Louisville, Tennessee State, Bradley and Virginia in the Tennessee Classic (Feb. 22-24), before splitting time in the NC State and Duke Tournaments (March 1-3).
“We can’t wait to bring our style of play to Arrocha Ballpark and show our fans an exciting brand of softball,” McFalls stated. “After nearly a month on the road, it will be a great opportunity to get our players into a normal rhythm of home-and-away competition.”
Home-sweet-home it will be for Kansas, finally beginning home competition nearly a month after the season starts with the Jayhawk Invitational (March 8-10). KU hosts SEMO, Maine and UMKC, before a one-game contest at Nebraska Omaha (March 12).
The following weekend KU hosts Tulsa and Nebraska for two games each in the Rock Chalk Challenge (March 15-17).
A single-game midweek clash against local-foe Wichita State is set for March 20 before the Jayhawks host Green Bay for their first three-game series of the season.
“The competition we are scheduled to face in nonconference play will help us establish our strengths prior to Big 12 competition, and we are excited to see where we stand when we face Baylor,” said McFalls.
KU opens Big 12 play against Baylor (March 29-31) and will follow the three-game series with a four-game Oklahoma road swing, playing Tulsa (April 3) and Oklahoma State (April 5-7).
Once back in Lawrence, KU again plays a team from the Sooner State, hosting Oklahoma (April 12-14).
The Jayhawks turn their attention to Texas Tech and face the Red Raiders in Lubbock (April 18-20) before hosting McFalls’ former squad Texas (April 26-28) in their final 2019 home series.
McFalls spent eight years with the Longhorns as an assistant coach and helped lead Texas to eight appearances in the NCAA Tournament (2011-18).
After a three-game series in Ames, Iowa against Iowa State (May 3-5), KU travels to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for the Big 12 Tournament (May 10-11)
In total, Kansas is scheduled to compete in 53 games with 21 home and 32 road contests.
FOLLOW
@KUSoftball
/KansasSoftball
@KUSoftball
KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.
