The following release information was issued by Minnesota and information and photos courtesy of Minnesota Softball and Connor Cunningham…
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – University of Minnesota head coach Piper Ritter has released the complete schedule for the 2024 softball season. The Golden Gophers are set to play 55 games in the regular season.
“This schedule is as competitive as it gets,” said Ritter. “It was put together to not only challenge us to play our best every day, but also to develop and prepare us throughout the season for the Big Ten and for championship play in May and June.”
Minnesota’s schedule features a loaded slate of opponents. Thirteen teams made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, while eight finished in the NFCA Top 25 with four others receiving votes. Nine different states are featured including California, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa.
The Maroon and Gold open the 55-game schedule with a trip to San Diego, Calif., from Feb. 9-11 as part of a five-game tournament. The Golden Gophers will face UC Santa Barbara, San Diego State, Stanford, and Kentucky.
Minnesota then travels to Clearwater, Fla., taking part in the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational, presented by EvoShield from Feb. 16-18. In the 16-team tournament, the Gophers will play Washington, Georgia Tech, Stanford, Georgia, and LSU.
Continuing on the road, the Gophers will travel to North Texas from Feb. 23-25 as part of a five-game tournament. Minnesota will take on Texas Tech, North Texas, Stephen F. Austin University, and New Mexico.
Minnesota will then travel southeast over spring break as part of two tournaments and one midweek game. The Gophers will compete at the Queen City Classic in Charlotte, N.C., from March 1-3. competing against Fordham, UNCW, Kentucky and Charlotte.
A midweek series against UNCG will occur on March 5 before Minnesota travels to Clemson for the Tiger Invitational from March 7-9. The Gophers will take on Clemson, Longwood, Fordham, and Mercer.
Their last regular season tournament will take place in Columbia, S.C., competing in a five-game tournament. The Golden Gophers will face off with Boston University, Michigan State, NC State, South Carolina, and Northwestern.
The Big Ten season begins on the road March 22-24 against Maryland. Other conference road matchups include Illinois (March 29-31), Indiana (April 12-14), and Iowa (April 26-28).
Action at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium will occur five times this season starting with Ohio State from April 5-7. Other home series include Wisconsin in a midweek double-header (April 17), Rutgers (April 19-21), and Nebraska (May 3-5).
South Dakota State will travel to the Twin Cities to face Minnesota in its lone non-conference home game on April 24.
The Big Ten Tournament is scheduled for May 8-11 in Iowa City, Iowa as the top 12 teams from the Big Ten will compete for the tournament title.
The schedule is subject to change, television assignments will be announced at a later date.
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