2010 Schedule:  PDF | HTM

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Four early-season tournament and four Ohio Valley Conference weekend series at Williams Field highlight Eastern Illinois softball's 2010 schedule, as announced by head coach Kim Schuette today.

The Panthers open the official spring portion of the season on February 13-14, participating in the Alabama State Hornet Invitational in Montgomery, Ala., where they will face the host squad and Midwest foe Akron in a double round-robin format. That tournament is followed by Feb. 20-21 dates in Atlanta, Ga., as Eastern competes in the Georgia State Panther Invite. EIU is set to play East Tennessee State, Temple, and the host Panther squad.

Following the opening spring swing thru the southeastern part of the country, the Panthers return to the Midwest, and will hope for good weather, playing on Feb. 27-28 at the Tulsa Embassy Suites Invite in Oklahoma. EIU will take on South Dakota State, UMKC, Creighton, and the host Hurricanes. The Panthers' final regular-season tournament will be at the multi-squad Arkansas Razerback Invitational on March 5-7, as Eastern faces Iowa State, Southern Miss, Louisiana-Lafayette, Drake, and the Razerbacks in Fayetteville.

During the EIU spring break in late March, the Panthers will head to Tennessee for potentially three games. That includes a scheduled doubleheader at Chattanooga on March 18, which follows a possible March 17 rain date game at Middle Tennessee State.

OVC action begins in earnest on March 20-21, as the Panthers open league play at last season's regular-season champion, tournament host, and eventual NCAA Regional champ, Jacksonville State. JSU finished a historic 2009 season as the Gamecocks, despite not winning the OVC Tournament, earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Regional where they proceeded to capture the Tennessee Regional and advance to the Tuscaloosa Super Regional. 

Including JSU, the Panthers will face a total of six teams that played in last season's NCAA Softball Championship -- last year's OVC championship title holder UT Martin, Louisiana-Lafayette, Tulsa, Arkansas, and Illinois.

Other mid-week opponents for the spring include doubleheader road trips at Saint Louis and Butler on April 6 and 8, as well as jaunts to face Midwest rivals Illinois and Indiana State on April 15 and April 22, respectively.

Only after playing up to 23 road will the Panthers finally enjoy home games on March 24-25, hosting IUPUI and SIU-Edwardsville at Williams Field, respectively. That will be followed by home-opening league matchups with Tennessee Tech on March 27-28. In OVC action, teams play a first day twinbill, followed by single-games the following afternoon. Last season, Eastern finished with a 6-14 home mark, but went 12-10 on the road and 7-5 on neutral territory.

Other key OVC matchups include entertaining Eastern Kentucky for a three-game series on April 10-11 and hosting Southeast Missouri in a single-game the following Wednesday afternoon (April 14). In late April, EIU will host Austin Peay and then will host NCAA newcomer Murray State in both squad's final league weekend contests on May 8-9, as the Racers will be fielding their first-ever softball squad this season.

The six-team end-of-season OVC Championship will be held at the #1 Seed on May 13-15, with the winner receiving the leagues entry to the NCAA Regional, running from May 20-23. Recently, the Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech hosted the championship in 2006-07, with perennial power Jax State having had home field advantage in 2005, as well as the past two seasons.

... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID