Nate Blythe, Assistant Director for Athletics Media Services – Campbell University
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell head coach Drew Peterson announced the 2014 softball slate on Monday afternoon. The Camels’ schedule is highlighted by 20 games at Amanda Littlejohn Stadium.
The Camels face 10 teams that appeared in the NCAA Tournament a year ago including Tennessee, who fell to Oklahoma in the Women’s College World Series. Valparaiso, IPFW, North Carolina, Central Connecticut State, Western Kentucky, Georgia Southern, North Carolina State, South Carolina and Longwood all made trips to the postseason in 2013.
“This schedule is going to challenge the team and prepare them for the conference season,” said Peterson, the 2013 Big South Coach of the Year. “We want to have an opportunity to experience playing in different environments, while competing against teams that are going to push us and expose our weaknesses. The goal is to be playing our best softball at the end of the year and make a good run in the postseason.”
Campbell opens the campaign hosting the Hampton Inn of Dunn Invitational on Feb. 7-9. Two league champions in Valparaiso and IPFW are amongst the field along with Seton Hall and UMass-Lowell.
“We have great support in our community and campus,” said coach Peterson. “We are preparing all year to being the season, so we want to take that enthusiasm and excitement and display it on the field for our home fans.”
A trip to Chapel Hill on Feb. 11 is the first major test for the Camels with a single game at North Carolina.
Campbell makes its first trip to the Sunshine State on Feb. 14-15 at the Hatter Invitational in Deland, Fla. Elon, Bethune-Cookman and Delaware are slated to face the Camels in the tournament hosted by Stetson.
“We know ahead of time that the weather in Florida is going to be great, but it’s also an opportunity to play quality opponents from the south that are already there and the schools from north that travel down there,” said coach Peterson.
Following a home tilt with the Phoenix on Feb. 19, the Scenic City is the next stop for the Camels at the Frost Classic on Feb. 21-23. Campbell battles Toledo, Middle Tennessee, Tennessee Tech, Austin Peay and host Chattanooga.
The third mid-week contest of the year is a doubleheader at N.C. Central on Feb. 25.
The Camels return to Florida on Feb. 28-Mar. 2 for a spring break trip to Clearwater at the USF UnderArmour Invitational. Central Connecticut State, Quinnipiac, St. Bonaventure, Oakland and Villanova are on the docket for Campbell.
The biggest test for Campbell in the non-conference slate comes at the Tennessee Invitational, where it faces three teams that played in the postseason – Western Kentucky, Georgia Southern and the host Lady Vols. A matchup with the College of Charleston rounds out the Mar. 7-8 weekend.
“Both, Tennessee and Chattanooga, are traditionally strong programs that run high-quality tournaments at great facilities,” said coach Peterson. “There is strong softball support in that part of our country. The teams that we face in both tournaments are ones that we could potentially be paired with in the postseason.”
Syracuse comes to Amanda Littlejohn Stadium on Mar. 12 in the Camels’ final preparation for conference play.
Campbell begins the Big South slate on the road at Liberty on Mar. 14-15, welcoming Dot Richardson, the Flames’ first-year head coach, to league action.
“Every team in our conference is capable of beating everybody else, so you can’t take a game off and must bring your best every day,” said coach Peterson. “I have a lot of respect for the coaches in our league and their ability to prepare their teams. The league as whole has grown over the past couple of years by featuring great players and playing competitive schedules.”
After a doubleheader at Appalachian State on Feb. 18, the Camels open a six-game home stand against conference foes Radford (Mar. 21-22) and Coastal Carolina (Mar. 25-26).
A series at Gardner-Webb on Mar. 29-30 precedes a matchup at North Carolina State to open April.
“It is nice to have some non-conference opponents at the end of year be teams that get your attention,” said coach Peterson. “These opponents help to keep us sharp for the weekend series.”
Winthrop comes to Buies Creek on April 4-5 before Campbell travels to South Carolina on April 8.
The Camels head to Longwood on April 12-13 for a battle with the Big South’s postseason representative in 2013.
Presbyterian (April 18-19) and UNC Wilmington (April 22) are a part of a season-ending five-game homestand for Campbell.
The regular season wraps up with a three-game set at Charleston Southern on May 2-3.
“Everything comes down to the Big South Championship because each team controls its own fate,” said coach Peterson.” Each team is striving for the No. 1 seed because it is such a great advantage, but we ultimately have to win the tournament in order to control our own postseason destiny.”
The Big South Championship runs from May 8-11 hosted by Coastal Carolina at its new softball complex. All nine teams in the league make the event, which is a double-elimination format following a play-in game.
Campbell opens the 2014 campaign on Feb. 7 with a doubleheader against Valparaiso and UMass-Lowell beginning at 3 p.m. at Amanda Littlejohn Stadium. The Hampton Inn of Dunn Invitational also features IPFW and Seton Hall.
