Murray State University Athletics
Photo by: Patti Twaddle
Home Tournament, California Highlight 2017 Racer Schedule
11/16/2016 4:22:00 PM | Softball
The first home tournament in program history, a trip to California and a new look OVC schedule are all part of the 2017 Murray State softball schedule that was announced by head coach Kara Amundson Wednesday.
"As a whole, this is a non-conference schedule that is really going to make us competitive come time for conference play," said Amundson. "We have a great mix of regional opponents, power five teams and teams we have never played before that I think will keep us on our toes and have us that much more prepared when we start to play OVC teams."
One of the features of this year's schedule is a home tournament March 10-12, the 2017 Racer Classic that features Saint Louis, Northern Illinois and Austin Peay. "This is something we have wanted to do for a while and were finally able to do this season," said Amundson. "Obviously, hosting a tournament has a lot of benefits, including not dealing with some of the disruptions that sometimes come with travel. However, for us, another benefit is getting the chance to show off our great facilities and providing the hospitality to our guests that Murray State has become known for across all sports."
The final change to this year's slate will be a new style schedule for OVC play. Gone is the "divisional" format that featured three-game sets against five opponent and doubleheaders against the remaining six. The new OVC schedule will consist strictly of doubleheaders, one against each of the other 11 teams in the conference. "I am really excited for this new OVC schedule" said Amundson. "I believe that this type of scheduling will help increase parity in our league, enabling us, as a conference, to better compete at a national level."
The Racers will begin their 2017 campaign at the Mercer Invitational Feb. 10-12 in Macon, Georgia where it will take on Mercer, Portland State, Dayton and Kent State. From there, MSU will travel to Alabama's Gulf Coast for the 2017 Mardi Gras Invitational in Mobile, Alabama hosted by South Alabama. While in Mobile, the Racers will play games against Butler, Jackson State, McNeese State and the host Jaguars March 17-19.
The last weekend in February will see Murray State travel to Birmingham, Alabama for a tournament hosted jointly by Samford and UAB. The Magic City will play host to the Racers from Feb. 24-26 where they will take on both hosts, Samford and UAB, as well as Iowa State and Indiana. On March 4 and 5, MSU will take part in Southern Illinois' Coach B Classic with games against Northern Illinois, Western Illinois, Illinois-Chicago and SIU.
After hosting the inaugural Racer Classic March 10-12, the Racers will host a mid-week doubleheader against Western Illinois before heading to Southern California for the 2017 CSUN Tournament hosted by Cal State Northridge. During its time in Northridge, MSU will play Bryant, Weber State and Quinnipiac.
Other highlights of MSU's 2017 slate include the home OVC opener against Eastern Kentucky March 25, an April 1 home tilt with reigning OVC champs Jacksonville State and senior day against Belmont at home on April 23.
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"As a whole, this is a non-conference schedule that is really going to make us competitive come time for conference play," said Amundson. "We have a great mix of regional opponents, power five teams and teams we have never played before that I think will keep us on our toes and have us that much more prepared when we start to play OVC teams."
One of the features of this year's schedule is a home tournament March 10-12, the 2017 Racer Classic that features Saint Louis, Northern Illinois and Austin Peay. "This is something we have wanted to do for a while and were finally able to do this season," said Amundson. "Obviously, hosting a tournament has a lot of benefits, including not dealing with some of the disruptions that sometimes come with travel. However, for us, another benefit is getting the chance to show off our great facilities and providing the hospitality to our guests that Murray State has become known for across all sports."
The final change to this year's slate will be a new style schedule for OVC play. Gone is the "divisional" format that featured three-game sets against five opponent and doubleheaders against the remaining six. The new OVC schedule will consist strictly of doubleheaders, one against each of the other 11 teams in the conference. "I am really excited for this new OVC schedule" said Amundson. "I believe that this type of scheduling will help increase parity in our league, enabling us, as a conference, to better compete at a national level."
The Racers will begin their 2017 campaign at the Mercer Invitational Feb. 10-12 in Macon, Georgia where it will take on Mercer, Portland State, Dayton and Kent State. From there, MSU will travel to Alabama's Gulf Coast for the 2017 Mardi Gras Invitational in Mobile, Alabama hosted by South Alabama. While in Mobile, the Racers will play games against Butler, Jackson State, McNeese State and the host Jaguars March 17-19.
The last weekend in February will see Murray State travel to Birmingham, Alabama for a tournament hosted jointly by Samford and UAB. The Magic City will play host to the Racers from Feb. 24-26 where they will take on both hosts, Samford and UAB, as well as Iowa State and Indiana. On March 4 and 5, MSU will take part in Southern Illinois' Coach B Classic with games against Northern Illinois, Western Illinois, Illinois-Chicago and SIU.
After hosting the inaugural Racer Classic March 10-12, the Racers will host a mid-week doubleheader against Western Illinois before heading to Southern California for the 2017 CSUN Tournament hosted by Cal State Northridge. During its time in Northridge, MSU will play Bryant, Weber State and Quinnipiac.
Other highlights of MSU's 2017 slate include the home OVC opener against Eastern Kentucky March 25, an April 1 home tilt with reigning OVC champs Jacksonville State and senior day against Belmont at home on April 23.
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