The University of Minnesota Gopher softball program has released the 2017 Softball Schedule, head coach Jessica Allister announced Tuesday. They are slated to play 54 games with 16 being played at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium.
The Maroon and Gold will play five games against teams that finished in the NCAA top-25 a season ago and 22 games will be against teams that competed in the NCAA Tournament.
“Our 2017 schedule is challenging, and will prepare us well for Big Ten and postseason play,” Allister said. “After a productive fall semester, I look forward to getting back to work as a team beginning with our January training trip to Florida.”
The first eight weeks of the season will send Minnesota on the road. They will start somewhere new this year heading down to Austin, Texas to kick things off. They will play a familiar foe in Big Ten opponent Maryland (12-40), 2016 NCAA Tournament team Texas (38-16) and Colorado State (22-24). Last year Minnesota swept Maryland in conference play and used just 15 innings to do so.
The following weekend Minnesota will take part in the B1G/ACC Challenge for the second straight year. They will play four games in Raleigh, N.C. with two against Notre Dame (43-13) and two against NC State (23-33). Notre Dame finished No. 23 in the country last season. The Gophers went 2-2 in the first ever B1G/ACC Challenge last year.
To wrap up February the Gophers will play five games in Fresno, Calif. They play UC Davis (15-35) twice and Fresno State (42-12-1), Cal Poly (27-23) and Idaho State (28-23) each once. Fresno State competed in the NCAA Tournament last season.
March will get started down in Baton Rouge, La. for the Maroon and Gold. They will play four tough games there including one against FAU (51-9) and another against LSU (52-18). The Gophers defeated FAU in 1-0 pitcher’s duel behind Sara Groenewegen’s perfect game last year. LSU finished as the No. 3 team in the country. While in Baton Rouge they will also play Troy (31-25) and Illinois State (20-33).
Over spring break Minnesota will play nine games in eight days starting with a tournament in Seattle, Wash. While in Seattle the Gophers will play Seattle University (19-33) twice, South Dakota (15-38) once and will get a rematch against Washington (39-15) with two games scheduled against them. Washington topped Minnesota three times last year including twice in the NCAA Regionals.
The Gophers will head down the coast with a game against Oregon State (30-20-1), one against California (33-24-1) and a doubleheader against Pacific (20-28) to end spring break and road nonconference play. Both Oregon State and California were NCAA Tournament teams.
The first Big Ten trip of the year for the Gophers will be at Nebraska (35-21). Last year Minnesota beat the Cornhuskers 6-0 and followed it up with an 11-10 walk-off victory the next day. The scheduled third game was canceled due to weather. Nebraska was in and out of the top-25 all season long and played in the NCAA Tournament last year.
The eight-week road stretch will finish at Illinois (36-23) for the Maroon and Gold. They swept the Fighting Illini a season ago with 13-0, 6-5 and 6-2 victories. Illinois was a NCAA Tournament Team in 2016. The Gophers first home action of the season will be on April 5 for a midweek doubleheader against South Dakota.
The first weekend series at Jane Sage Cowles will pit the Gophers against Indiana (29-25). The last time the two teams met was in 2013 with Minnesota picking up a sweep at home. The next week Minnesota will host Northwestern (27-28). Last year the Gophers went 2-1 at Northwestern and also topped the Wildcats in the B1G Tournament semifinals.
April stays jam-packed as the Maroon and Gold will head off for a midweek doubleheader at Wisconsin (28-24-1) on April 19 looking to avenge two losses to the Badgers last year.
Minnesota will close out April with eight games at home including a weekend series against Iowa (13-39), a midweek doubleheader against NDSU (39-15) and a weekend series against Purdue (27-28). The Gophers swept both Iowa and Purdue last year and knocked NDSU out of the NCAA Tournament.
The final regular season series of the year will send the Gophers to Penn State (30-24). The last time the two teams met was in 2014 with Minnesota coming away with the sweep.
The B1G Tournament is set for May 11-13 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Minnesota has won two out of the last three tournaments including last year’s 10-inning thriller over Michigan.
The NCAA Tournament is scheduled to begin on May 18. The Gophers have now taken a program record, four straight trips there.
