BROOKINGS – With 57 days to go until the first pitch of the 2018 Jackrabbit softball season, South Dakota State released its 53-game schedule Thursday. The Jacks play their first 34 games of the new campaign away from home, but wrap up the season with 11 of their final 19 regular season games in Brookings.
“This schedule has a similar feel to last season, where we’ll face a challenging nonconference lineup to set us up for a successful Summit League run,” SDSU coach Krista Wood said. “We have a solid group of returners who are now upperclassman in our program, and a strong blend of newcomers who will add depth to our team.”
For the second year in a row, SDSU opens the season at the UNI Dome Tournament in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on Feb. 9-11, where it will face UMKC, Southeast Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Drake and Green Bay.
The first of two trips to Florida fills the middle of February (16-18) for the Jacks with five games at the UNF Osprey Invitational in Jacksonville. SDSU competed in the event a year ago, and this season will take on Providence, North Florida, UT Arlington, Jacksonville and Canisius.
The Central Arkansas Tournament provides five more games for the Jackrabbits in February, with Coppin State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Boise State, Austin Peay and the host Bears on the docket in Conway, Arkansas, on Feb. 23-25.
SDSU returns to the Florida over spring break to wrap up pre-conference tournament play with a six-day stay at the USF-Under Armour Invitational in Clearwater. The Jackrabbits will play nine games between March 6-11, taking on Penn, Niagara, Central Michigan, Loyola Chicago, Seton Hall, Bethune-Cookman, Central Connecticut State, Maine and Delaware State.
A pair of Big 10 opponents await the Jackrabbits in the middle of March, with doubleheaders at Nebraska and Iowa scheduled for March 14 and 21. From there, the Jackrabbits have a final tune-up at UMKC, March 24-25, before conference play starts.
SDSU begns league play March 30-31 at Omaha before a long-awaited home opener features North Dakota and the Jacks in Brookings April 3.
That doubleheader launches a nine-game homestand for SDSU, as South Dakota (April 7-8), Drake (April 11) and North Dakota State (April 14-15) come to town over the next two weeks.
April 7 against the Coyotes is Alumni Appreciation Day at Jackrabbit Softball Stadium, with Senior Day scheduled for April 15 against the Bison.
The Jackrabbits play a return doubleheader at UND on April 17 in Grand Forks, N.D., before returning to league play with a three-game series at IPFW on April 21-22.
April 24 is the final home doubleheader of the season as Dakota State comes to town. South Dakota State closes the regular season at Western Illinois on April 28-29.
From there, the the league’s top six teams advance to the Summit League Softball Championship, to be held May 9-12 in Fargo, N.D.
Photo from www.gojacks.com.
