Softball announces 2010 schedule

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – University of Arkansas softball head coach Mike Larabee has announced his team’s schedule for the 2010 season. This year’s slate includes five non-conference tournaments-two to be played at Bogle Park-and nine regular-season Southeastern Conference dates, and for the first time in program history, the Razorbacks will play host to the SEC Tournament.In its first season under the direction of Larabee, the Razorbacks open the season Feb. 12-14 with the Metrodome Classic in Minneapolis, Minn. Joining Arkansas in the season-opening event are Drake, Iowa, Iowa State and host-school Minnesota. The season’s second competition will take the Razorbacks to the North Texas Invitational (Feb. 19-21) in Denton, Texas, where they will be joined by Buffalo, Colorado State, Drake, North Texas, Northwestern State and Pitt.Arkansas will compete in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Lead-Off Classic, one of the premier events of the non-conference season, against teams from Central Florida, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. The event will be held Feb. 26-28 in Columbus, Ga.The Razorbacks’ home opener is set for March 5-6 and the Razorback Invitational, the first of two non-conference tournaments to be played in Fayetteville. The field for the event includes Drake, Eastern Illinois, Iowa State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Southern Miss. The club’s final event before SEC play is the Arkansas Invitational. The March 13-14 competition will also feature teams from Louisiana Tech, Southeast Missouri State and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.Conference play opens with a trip to Columbia, S.C., and a doubleheader against the Gamecocks. Arkansas will then take on Kentucky in a weekend series in Lexington. The five-game conference road start is the longest in program history.In a budding regional rivalry, the Razorbacks will host Oklahoma for a mid-week game before returning to conference play and a three-game set with Mississippi State at Bogle Park. The annual Border War with Oklahoma State and Tulsa will take place March 31 in Stillwater, Okla. It will be the 10th edition of the three-team series.Arkansas jumps back into the conference play with a weekend series in Athens, Ga., against the Bulldogs. After an open week, the Razorbacks welcome Women’s College World Series runner-up Florida to Fayetteville for a three-game series. Arkansas will then play Tennessee in a midweek doubleheader at Bogle Park.After a trip to Baton Rouge, La., for a three-game series with LSU, the Razorbacks will continue their tradition of playing a midweek game in Central Arkansas. This season’s matchup in Sherwood, Ark., will feature the Razorbacks taking on Memphis.A weekend series against Western Division foe Alabama in Fayetteville and a midweek road contest against Missouri State are next for Arkansas. The Razorbacks begin May with a home series against Ole Miss before heading to Auburn for their regular-season finale.In a showcase for Bogle Park in its second year of existence, the postseason begins when the top eight teams from the regular season venture to Fayetteville, Ark., for the 2010 SEC Tournament. The conference event will be held May 13-15.

After the conference tournaments conclude, the NCAA Tournament gets underway with the regional and super regional rounds on various campus sites around the nation. The 2010 season culminates June 3-9 with the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Download: 2010 Razorback Softball Schedule.pdf