| Lori Cook |
SAN ANTONIO ? The UTSA softball team announced its 2009 schedule on Friday and the slate is highlighted by 25 home games and 10 contests against 2008 NCAA Tournament teams.
“We have put together a great schedule that will give us the opportunity to compete against some of the top teams in the nation along with a very tough Southland Conference schedule,” fourth-year head coach Lori Cook said. “The non-conference portion has us playing several teams that made it to the NCAA Tournament last year, including A&M, who played for the NCAA Championship. Those kinds of opponents will definitely get us ready for conference play.”
The Roadrunners will open the campaign at the Aggie Classic on College Station on Feb. 6-7, as they will play NCAA participant Tulsa and national runner-up Texas A&M twice. UTSA then will play Prairie View A&M at the Aggie Softball Complex on Feb. 8.
The following weekend, UTSA will travel to Waco for five games at the Getterman Classic, including non-conference tilts against a pair of league foes. The Roadrunners face New Mexico and Mississippi on Feb. 13, Stephen F. Austin and Baylor on Feb. 14 and Northwestern State on Feb. 15.
UTSA will host North Texas in a doubleheader on Feb. 17 in the first two of 25 home games ? the most since also hosting 25 in 2001 ? at Roadrunner Field this season. The Roadrunners also welcome non-conference opponents Houston Baptist and UTEP to town for doubleheaders on March 11 and 24, respectively. UTSA also has a home date with Texas Tech on March 30 and a three-game series against Cal State Bakersfield on April 18-19.
“The nice thing about our schedule is we play more home games,” Cook said. “The last few years we have been on the road for about two-thirds of our season, so hopefully it will be to our advantage to be at Roadrunner Field more often.”
The Roadrunners will hit the road for games against Houston Baptist (doubleheader) on April 15, Baylor on April 21 and NCAA participant Texas (doubleheader) on April 30.
The Roadrunners open Southland Conference play with the league’s traditional three-game series at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 24-25, before hosting Sam Houston State on Feb. 28-March 1. Other conference home series include UT Arlington (March 14-15), Central Arkansas (March 27-28), Nicholls (April 4-5) and Northwestern State (April 25-26). The league takes the Roadrunners on the road for sets at McNeese State (March 7-8), Southeastern Louisiana (March 21-22), defending regular season champion Texas State (April 10-11) and defending tournament champion Stephen F. Austin (May 2-3). The SLC Tournament is set for May 7-11 in Lake Charles, La.
“This league has gotten so much better from top to bottom over the past few years,” Cook said. “It’s obvious you have to take care of your business at home, but to compete for a conference championship you have to win on the road. With the improvements every team has made, you can’t let your guard down for any opponent or you’ll get beat. That’s why I think playing such a solid non-conference schedule will help us be ready for the conference season.”