Army softball opens play Feb. 9, will face nine foes from the 2023 NCAA tournament
Army will open the softball season on Feb. 9 and take part in five early season tournaments.
The Black Knights, under second-year coach Jen Consaul, will face nine schools that played in the NCAA Division I tournament a year ago: Duke, Oregon, Utah, Indiana, Liberty, Middle Tennessee, Seton Hall, North Carolina Greensboro and Boston University. Utah reached the College World Series and was swept in two games. Duke bowed in the finals of its super regional, as did Oregon in the Stillwater super regional.
Army (22-37 a year ago) finished third in the Patriot League at 10-8. The Black Knights dropped their postseason opener to Lehigh, successfully battled out of the consolation bracket with wins over Bucknell and Lehigh and fell in the championship round, 2-0 to Boston University.
The home opener is March 23, a doubleheader with Boston University that serves as the Patriot opener.
Also visiting West Point will be Siena, Seton Hall, Fordham, Lafayette, Lehigh and St. John’s.
The Patriot League tournament will be held May 9-11.
Army returns 16 players and brings in a freshman class of six, including Wallkill High School catcher Jordyn Detz. Returning to the lineup are outfielder Kayla Edwards, a senior, and Taylor Brown, a sophomore designated player - both were second-team Patriot all-stars in 2023.
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Army softball (2023: 22-37; 10-8 Patriot, third place)
2024 schedule
February
Fri. 9-Sun. 11 – Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Fla.; Fri. 9 – vs. Utah (42-16, 15-9 Pac-12, third), 1 p.m.; vs. Missouri State (31-20, 21-6 Missouri Valley, second), 4 p.m.; Sat. 10 – vs. Western Kentucky (30-24, 14-9 Conference USA, fifth), 10 a.m.; vs. Indiana (44-18, 18-5 Big Ten, second), 1 p.m.; Sun. 11 – vs. Oregon (38-17, 14-10 Pac-12, fifth), 10 a.m.; Fri. 16-Sun. 18 – Panther Invitational, at Miami, Fla.; Fri. 16 – vs. Rutgers (32-25, 9-14 Big Ten, eleventh), 1 p.m.; vs. Florida International (24-27, 10-14 Conference USA, eighth), 4 p.m.; Fri. 17 – vs. Duke (48-11, 19-5 Atlantic Coast, second), 10 a.m.; Fri. 23-Sun. 25 – I-95 tournament, in Atlanta, Ga.; Fri. 23 – vs. N.C. Greensboro (37-22, 13-4 Southern, first), 11 a.m.; vs. Georgia Tech (26-27, 7-17 Atlantic Coast, tenth), 4:30 p.m.; Sat. 24 – vs. Kennesaw State (DH) (20-32, 11-13 Atlantic Sun, ninth), 2 p.m.; Sun. 25 – vs. Georgia State (18-36, 7-17 Sun Belt, T-eighth), 11 a.m.
March
Fri. 1-Sun. 3 – Middle Tennessee Invitational, at Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Fri. 1 – at Middle Tennessee (42-20, 13-10 Conference USA, sixth), 11:30 a.m.; vs. North Alabama (34-16-1, 12-11-1 Atlantic Sun, fifth), 5:30 p.m.; Sat. 2 – vs. North Alabama, 5 p.m.; vs. Detroit Mercy (4-34, 3-20 Horizon, ninth), 7:30 p.m.; Sun. 3 – vs. Bradley (15-40, 7-20 Missouri Valley, tenth), 9 a.m.; Sat. 9-Sun. 10 – Morgan State tournament, in Baltimore, Md.; Sat. 9 – at Morgan State (24-21, 14-4 Mid-Eastern, first), noon; vs. Wagner (13-27, 9-12 Northeast, T-sixth), 2 p.m.; Sun. 10 – at Morgan State, 10 a.m.; vs. Wagner, noon; Sat. 16 – at Rider (DH) (19-31, 9-11 Metro Atlantic, T-seventh), TBD; Wed. 20 – at Albany (DH) (24-19, 11-7 America East, third), 2 p.m.; Sat. 23 – vs. Boston University* (DH) (51-9, 17-1 Patriot, first), noon; Sun. 24 – vs. Boston University*, noon; Wed. 27 – vs. Siena (DH) (32-21, 11-9 Metro Atlantic, T-fourth), 4 p.m.; Sat. 30 – at Bucknell* (DH) (16-31, 8-10 Patriot, fourth), noon; Sun. 31 – at Bucknell*, noon
April
Wed. 3 – vs. Seton Hall (DH) (42-16, 18-6 Big East, T-second), 2 p.m.; Sat. 6 – at Holy Cross* (DH) (15-36-1, 2-16 Patriot, seventh), noon; Sun. 7 – at Holy Cross*, noon; Wed. 10 – vs. Fordham (20-28, 11-10 Atlantic 10, fifth), 4 p.m.; Fri. 12 – vs. Lafayette* (DH) (8-36-1, 4-14 Patriot, sixth), noon; Sat. 13 – vs. Lafayette*, TBD; Wed. 17 – at Central Connecticut (21-16, 14-7 Northeast, T-second), TBD; Sat. 27 – vs. Lehigh* (DH) (40-14, 16-2 Patriot, second), noon; Sun. 28 – vs. Lehigh*, noon
May
Wed. 1 – vs. St. John’s (DH) (23-29, 8-13 Big East, fifth), 3 p.m.; Sat. 4 – at Colgate* (DH) (17-31, 6-12 Patriot, fifth), noon; Sun. 5 – at Colgate*, noon; Thur. 9-Sat. 11 – Patriot League tournament
Home games at Army Softball Complex, West Point (next to Gillis Fieldhouse); asterisk marks Patriot League contests; many games to be broadcast on ESPN Plus (subscription)
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army faces challenging softball schedule
