Murray State University Athletics
Racer Softball Releases 2020 Schedule
12/5/2019 7:31:00 PM | Softball
Five new foes and five 2019 NCAA Tournament teams are among the notable opponents for Murray State softball after head coach Kara Amundson released the 2020 schedule on Thursday. The slate of opponents includes eight teams that finished inside the top-100 according to the final RPI in 2019, while the Racers are also set to host the 4th annual Racer Classic on March 13-15 at Racer Field in Murray, Kentucky.
"We are really excited about our schedule for the 2020 season. We are excited to highlight our annual Racer Classic in early March, as well as our additional 14 home games throughout the spring. Our preseason tournament schedule is packed with good competition that will hopefully prepare us. Additionally, we have some solid midweek opponents later in the spring. This schedule is set up to help us be ready to compete for an OVC title at the end of the season," said Amundson.
The Racers will open the new campaign at the Doc Halverson Dome Tournament in Cedar Falls, Iowa on February 7th in one of six tournaments that lead up to MSU's conference opener in mid-March for the 2020 season. Highlighting the weekend in Cedar Falls will be games against two of those aforementioned 2019 top-100 RPI teams - a pair of contests with host Northern Iowa, as well as a single game against the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Champion Drake Bulldogs.
Play will then continue the following weekend at the 2020 Natchitoches Historic District Development Lady Demon Classic, hosted by Northwestern State, with opponents still to be determined.
From there, the Racers will travel to Montgomery, Alabama for the Black and Gold Tournament hosted by Alabama State where they will meet both St. John's (Big East) and South Carolina State (MEAC) for the first time, in addition to a matchup with the host Hornets of Alabama State - a 2019 NCAA Tournament participant that earned a bid after being crowned last year's SWAC Tournament champion.
The fourth tournament will be a trip to Carbondale for the Coach B Classic, hosted by Southern Illinois, where the Racers will once again meet a pair of new opponents by way of two outings against Creighton (Big East) and a lone contest with the Norse of Northern Kentucky out of the Horizon League. Murray State will also take on the host Salukis of SIU, who finished 2019 as a top-50 team in the RPI after receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in a season that saw them achieve a 34-15 record with a 17-6 mark against Missouri Valley Conference opponents.
The final tournament away from home will be the Mizuno Classic hosted by Oklahoma State, which is set to take place in Stillwater, Oklahoma on March 6-8. The weekend will feature some fierce competition, as the Racers are currently scheduled for a pair of games against Missouri State, another 2019 top-100 RPI team, to go along with two contests against the host Cowgirls of Oklahoma State - a team that reached the 2019 Women's College World Series and turned in a 45-17 record with a 13-5 mark against Big 12 opponents. Oklahoma State ranked 10th in the final RPI from 2019.
Murray State will then look forward to its home opener on Friday, March 13th against Youngstown State as part of the weekend-long Racer Classic in Murray, Kentucky. While the Racers have never played Youngstown State, the two sides will be familiar with each other after the weekend, as they are set to clash three times over the course of the tournament. Playing five games in total on the weekend, the other two will be against Oakland out of the Horizon League.
March 21st will mark the beginning of Ohio Valley Conference doubleheaders, as the Racers host Jacksonville State for two games at Racer Field. A five-game road trip will follow, beginning with a mid-week nonconference encounter with North Alabama, followed by doubleheaders against Tennessee State and Belmont on the road in Nashville.
The Racers then return to Racer Field for five-straight home games, including OVC doubleheaders against Eastern Illinois and SIUE, followed by a Tuesday nonconference meeting with Middle Tennessee.
After a brief stop in Cookeville, Tennessee for two games against Tennessee State, the Racers will enjoy the comfort of home for seven-straight contests, beginning with the First Financial Bank Battle of the Border rivalry doubleheader against Austin Peay, before welcoming UT Martin and the Redhawks of Southeast Missouri State to Racer Field. The Redhawks also reached the NCAA Tournament last year after securing the OVC's automatic bid as the conference tournament champion. A Wednesday evening date with Southern Illinois wraps up the homestand, before Murray State concludes the regular season with a trip to the east side of Kentucky for double headers against Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State.
The Ohio Valley Conference Tournament is set to be held once again at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama May 6-9.
"We are really excited about our schedule for the 2020 season. We are excited to highlight our annual Racer Classic in early March, as well as our additional 14 home games throughout the spring. Our preseason tournament schedule is packed with good competition that will hopefully prepare us. Additionally, we have some solid midweek opponents later in the spring. This schedule is set up to help us be ready to compete for an OVC title at the end of the season," said Amundson.
The Racers will open the new campaign at the Doc Halverson Dome Tournament in Cedar Falls, Iowa on February 7th in one of six tournaments that lead up to MSU's conference opener in mid-March for the 2020 season. Highlighting the weekend in Cedar Falls will be games against two of those aforementioned 2019 top-100 RPI teams - a pair of contests with host Northern Iowa, as well as a single game against the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Champion Drake Bulldogs.
Play will then continue the following weekend at the 2020 Natchitoches Historic District Development Lady Demon Classic, hosted by Northwestern State, with opponents still to be determined.
From there, the Racers will travel to Montgomery, Alabama for the Black and Gold Tournament hosted by Alabama State where they will meet both St. John's (Big East) and South Carolina State (MEAC) for the first time, in addition to a matchup with the host Hornets of Alabama State - a 2019 NCAA Tournament participant that earned a bid after being crowned last year's SWAC Tournament champion.
The fourth tournament will be a trip to Carbondale for the Coach B Classic, hosted by Southern Illinois, where the Racers will once again meet a pair of new opponents by way of two outings against Creighton (Big East) and a lone contest with the Norse of Northern Kentucky out of the Horizon League. Murray State will also take on the host Salukis of SIU, who finished 2019 as a top-50 team in the RPI after receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in a season that saw them achieve a 34-15 record with a 17-6 mark against Missouri Valley Conference opponents.
The final tournament away from home will be the Mizuno Classic hosted by Oklahoma State, which is set to take place in Stillwater, Oklahoma on March 6-8. The weekend will feature some fierce competition, as the Racers are currently scheduled for a pair of games against Missouri State, another 2019 top-100 RPI team, to go along with two contests against the host Cowgirls of Oklahoma State - a team that reached the 2019 Women's College World Series and turned in a 45-17 record with a 13-5 mark against Big 12 opponents. Oklahoma State ranked 10th in the final RPI from 2019.
Murray State will then look forward to its home opener on Friday, March 13th against Youngstown State as part of the weekend-long Racer Classic in Murray, Kentucky. While the Racers have never played Youngstown State, the two sides will be familiar with each other after the weekend, as they are set to clash three times over the course of the tournament. Playing five games in total on the weekend, the other two will be against Oakland out of the Horizon League.
March 21st will mark the beginning of Ohio Valley Conference doubleheaders, as the Racers host Jacksonville State for two games at Racer Field. A five-game road trip will follow, beginning with a mid-week nonconference encounter with North Alabama, followed by doubleheaders against Tennessee State and Belmont on the road in Nashville.
The Racers then return to Racer Field for five-straight home games, including OVC doubleheaders against Eastern Illinois and SIUE, followed by a Tuesday nonconference meeting with Middle Tennessee.
After a brief stop in Cookeville, Tennessee for two games against Tennessee State, the Racers will enjoy the comfort of home for seven-straight contests, beginning with the First Financial Bank Battle of the Border rivalry doubleheader against Austin Peay, before welcoming UT Martin and the Redhawks of Southeast Missouri State to Racer Field. The Redhawks also reached the NCAA Tournament last year after securing the OVC's automatic bid as the conference tournament champion. A Wednesday evening date with Southern Illinois wraps up the homestand, before Murray State concludes the regular season with a trip to the east side of Kentucky for double headers against Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State.
The Ohio Valley Conference Tournament is set to be held once again at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama May 6-9.
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