UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State softball head coach Clarisa Crowell announced the program's schedule for its 59th varsity season in the spring of 2024. The 2024 slate for the Blue & White features 53 contests highlighted by 18 games scheduled on Beard Field and Nittany Lion Softball Park.
"We are delighted to finally release our 2024 spring schedule, and our staff and student-athletes are very excited about the upcoming season," Crowell said. "Everyone in our program looks forward to continuing to build on the successes of last year, and we are anxiously awaiting the start of the season in Boca Raton. We have several quality opponents on our non-conference schedule, and I know our team will be well prepared for another excellent Big Ten slate. We have an incredible group of players, and our staff is beyond excited to take the field with Team 59 in February."
The Nittany Lions will play 15 total games against eight opponents that reached the 2023 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament in addition to a game against an opponent that reached the Super Regionals last season. PSU's 2024 schedule features two games against foes that hosted Regionals a year ago in Arkansas and Texas. Seven of Penn State's eight Big Ten Conference challengers participated in the postseason last year, with PSU set to host a pair of home series against its two B1G Tournament challengers from 2023 in Indiana and Michigan.
One of Penn State's oldest and most storied intercollegiate programs christens its 59th varsity campaign at the Paradise Classic in Boca Raton, Florida, hosted by Florida Atlantic University. The Nittany Lions take the field for the first time on Friday, February 9, with a pair of games against Marshall and FAU. PSU challenges its first NCAA Tournament challenger on Saturday, February 10 against the Arkansas Razorbacks and continues play later that day against Ohio. The Blue & White finish their opening weekend with their second game against Ohio in as many days on Sunday, February 11.
PSU returns to the Sunshine State of Florida over the weekend of February 16-18, with Penn State set to face Kansas, Coastal Carolina and UC Riverside in addition to a pair of games against 2023 NCAA Regional participants in Southern Illinois and Liberty. The Nittany Lions then travel to Lynchburg, Virginia, to participate in the Liberty Softball Classic from February 23-25. Penn State will play single games against Saint Francis, Liberty and Penn over the course of the weekend in addition to a Saturday doubleheader against Morgan State.
The program's spring break sojourn brings the Nittany Lions to the Lone Star State of Texas, where the Blue & White open a weeklong trip at the Longhorn Invitational hosted by the University of Texas. Play begins on Saturday, March 2 and concludes on Monday, March 4, with five games on the docket. PSU competes once against Hofstra and Northwestern State in addition to a pair of games against Tarleton in Austin. Penn State closes out road tournament action with the main event against host Texas on Monday. The Blue & White conclude their stay in Texas with a three-game set against the NCAA Regional-participant Texas State Bobcats, with a single game Thursday and Friday doubleheader on deck over March 7-8.
Penn State returns to the Keystone State and will play host to multiple softball programs across the northeast in the third edition of the Penn State Softball Invitational. PSU's home tournament begins on Friday, March 15, with the Nittany Lion home opener against Lehigh scheduled for a 4 p.m. (ET) start. Penn State squares off against Cornell later that night, followed by a single game on Saturday against Canisius before wrapping up the tournament against Binghamton on Sunday afternoon. PSU's final contest before the start of league action comes on Tuesday, March 19, with the Nittany Lions set to travel two hours west to face off against the rival Pittsburgh Panthers on the road.
Nittany Lion softball enters its 33rd season as a member of the Big Ten Conference and opens league action against the Indiana Hoosiers in a three-game set from March 22-24. PSU hosts Pennsylvania-rival Bucknell in a midweek matchup before returning to B1G competition with its second league series at home against Maryland from March 29-31. The Nittany Lions hit the road in Big Ten play for the first time with a midweek doubleheader against the Ohio State Buckeyes on April 2, before booking their first extended road trip on the league calendar with a road trip to Lincoln, Nebraska, to face the Nebraska Cornhuskers from April 5-7.
Penn State returns home for its first series in the back half of the league calendar on April 12-14, as the Nittany Lions welcome the Michigan State Spartans on Blue-White weekend. Conference competition continues the following weekend, with PSU traveling to face the Wisconsin Badgers on April 19-21 in Madison. PSU wraps up its non-conference slate with a midweek test against the Saint Francis Red Flash on April 23, before heading into senior weekend against Michigan. Penn State will play a three-game series against the Wolverines on April 26-28 and will close out its 14th campaign at Nittany Lion Softball Park. The regular season concludes with a three-game stretch against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on May 3-5 in Piscataway, New Jersey.
The 2024 Big Ten Conference Softball Tournament will take place on the campus of the University of Iowa in Iowa City, with league postseason action slated to begin on Wednesday, May 8 and conclude on Saturday, May 11. The NCAA Tournament selection show is tentatively scheduled for Monday, May 13, with the 16 Regionals set for the weekend of May 17-19. Super Regional competition follows the next weekend, May 24-26. The Women's College World Series returns to Oklahoma City and USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium, with play slated to begin on Thursday, May 30 and run through either Thursday or Friday, June 6 or 7.
To view the 2024 Penn State softball schedule online, click the link here.
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