Nov. 3, 2009
2010 Schedule
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Head coach Robin Petrini released the 52-game 2010 Nittany Lion softball schedule on Tuesday. The schedule, which slates 14 home games at Nittany Lion Field, has eight NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago including defending champion Washington.
Penn State hosts 14 games in presumably its final season at Nittany Lion Field. The home opener is March 24 against Central Pennsylvania rival Saint Francis. That game will serve as a tune up to the Big Ten opener against Minnesota, as a two-game series begins March 27 at Nittany Lion Field.
After a pair of road games at Kent State (March 30) and two more at 2009 NCAA participant Purdue (Apr. 3-4), Penn State will host Pittsburgh on Apr. 6 at 3:00 p.m. Another two-game series away at Wisconsin (Apr. 10-11) is the final road trip before a four-game home stand against Big Ten rivals Michigan State (Apr. 14) and Illinois (Apr. 17-18).
The Nittany Lions face a daunting task as they travel to Michigan Apr. 21 for a doubleheader. The Wolverines advanced to the Women's College World Series a year ago, losing to Georgia two round short of the Championship Series.
Four more games at Nittany Lion Field will take place Apr. 24-27 when Penn State hosts Iowa, a 2009 NCAA Tournament team, that Saturday and Sunday before taking on Big East foe Syracuse for a doubleheader on Tuesday.
Two games away to 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Northwestern (May 1-2) take place before the finale home series of the year against Ohio State (May 8-9). OSU was a NCAA Super Regional participant last season, falling at Georgia. Penn State rounds out its Big Ten and regular season slate at Indiana on May 14-15.
The challenging schedule will see Penn State take two western road swings to begin the year, the first of which is to the New Mexico State Invitational. The Nittany Lions will play five games in three days starting Feb. 12 against UTEP and Colorado State in Las Cruces, N.M. The following day PSU takes on host New Mexico State and Texas-San Antonio before rounding out the tournament on Feb. 14 with a game against 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Nebraska.
The following week, the Lions will fly west again, this time to San Diego for the Campbell/Cartier Tournament hosted by San Diego State Feb. 19-21. First-day action sees Penn State go against Western Kentucky and UC Santa Barbara followed up by Utah State and hosts and 2009 NCAA Tournament team San Diego State on Feb. 20. Defending champion Washington cap the Lions' stay in California on the 21st.
Penn State will travel to East Carolina Pirate Classic on Feb. 27 and 28 to take on Towson, Delaware, Morehead State and hosts East Carolina in Greenville, N.C.
The Nittany Lions' spring break will be spent in Clearwater, Fla. when they play 12 games in 10 days at the USF Under Armour Showcase. In the first three days of competition (March 5-7), Penn State will face Central Michigan, Florida Gulf Coast, Ball State, Florida International and host South Florida.
After a day off, Penn State returns to the diamond for a rematch with Central Michigan on March 9 and a game against Saint Joseph's a day later. After another off day, the Nittany Lions conclude their time in Florida with five games against Stony Brook, Toledo, Middle Tennessee State, Southern Illinois, and Kennesaw State over three days, finishing on March 14.
The Nittany Lions will play 16 true road games with 22 additional neutral site games in 2010. In all, Penn State will face teams from 18 different NCAA Division I conferences and will play in all four continental U.S. time zones this season.
Construction on Penn State's new Beard Field is slated to begin this spring with the targeted completion date set for the start of the 2011 season. The new facility will feature indoor and outdoor batting cages, brand new athletic amenities such as clubhouses, in-ground dugouts, new coaches offices, locker rooms, training rooms and study space, while also featuring a new media/press box, concession stands, ticket offices and 1,000 permanent seats facing Mount Nittany. The facility will be named after William and Lee Beard, the main benefactors to the $10.2 million project.
2010 SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
2009 NCAA TEAMS
Iowa
Michigan
Northwestern
Nebraska
Ohio State
Purdue
San Diego State
Washington
2009 WOMEN'S CWS TEAMS
Michigan
Washington
2009 NCAA CHAMPIONS
Washington
2010 HOME GAMES
14 games (4 non-conference)
TEAMS BY CONFERENCES
A-10: Saint Joseph's
America East: Stony Brook
Atlantic Sun: Florida Gulf Coast, Kennesaw State
Big 12: Nebraska
Big East: Pittsburgh, South Florida, Syracuse (2)
Big Ten: All Teams twice (20 total)
Big West: UC Santa Barbara
CAA: Towson, Delaware
C-USA: East Carolina, UTEP
MAC: Ball State, Central Michigan (2), Kent State (2), Toledo
MVC: Southern Illinois
MWC: Colorado State, San Diego State
NEC: Saint Francis (Pa.)
OVC: Morehead State
Pac 10: Washington
Southland: UTSA
Sun Belt: Florida International, Middle Tenn. St., Western Kentucky
WAC: New Mexico State, Utah State
TOTAL GAMES
Home: 14 Away: 16 Neutral: 22 Total: 52 games
For complete coverage of all the Nittany Lion softball this season, visit GoPSUsports.com.
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--NITTANY LIONS--