University of Massachusets Athletics
Softball Releases 2005 Schedule
September 14, 2004 | Softball
Sept. 14, 2004
AMHERST, Mass. -- University of Massachusetts softball coach Elaine Sortino has announced the schedule for the upcoming season. The Minutewomen will be playing in four pre-season tournaments where they will face some of the nation's top teams. UMass is scheduled to play 25 games at the UMass Softball Complex where they have won 70 straight regular season contests. The 2005 home slate is highlighted by a doubleheader against ACC-foe North Carolina State on April 24.
"This is a very tough schedule, both nationally and regionally," said Sortino. "Each year, our region and conference have continued to get better and only enhanced the level of softball on the East Coast. Having two teams make the NCAA Tournament from our league last year says a lot for how far we have come and will make this a very challenging season."
The 2005 season gets underway at the Kajikawa Classic in Phoenix, Ariz., formerly the Fiesta Bowl Classic, Feb. 11-13. UMass will play Texas Tech, Arizona State, South Carolina, Tennessee-Chattanooga and Texas in the Valley of the Sun. Following a week off, the Minutewomen will compete in the prestigious NFCA Lead-off Classic in Columbus, Ga., Feb. 25-27. The Minutewomen will then head to Florida for consecutive tournaments to kick off the month of March. UMass will compete in the FAU Invitational, March 5-6, and the Speedline Invitational, March 11-13. The pairings have not been set for the last three tournaments yet.
Regional play gets underway March 19 when the Minutewomen play a doubleheader at Villanova. The home opener is slated for March 24 against Syracuse and then UMass hits the road again to begin A-10 play at Dayton on March 26. ACC foe North Carolina State comes to Amherst for a doubleheader on April 24 marking the first team from outside the region to play a regular season game at the UMass Softball Complex.
The 2005 Atlantic 10 Championship will be May 12-14 at the University of Rhode Island. The NCAA Tournament has also changed formats as softball is now like baseball. Each regional will now feature four teams and is double elimination. The winner of each regional will then move on to the super regionals, a best of three series at one school's home field. The 2005 Women's College World Series will be June 2-8.
In addition, UMass' "Fall Ball" slate begins this weekend. The Minutewomen will host a mini-tournament featuring Sacred Heart, Holy Cross and UConn this weekend and will play 12 games overall. For updated times and schedule information on both the fall and spring schedules, please check www.umassathletics.com.