Southern Miss Softball Releases 2003 Schedule
7/17/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Southern Miss Softball Releases 2003 Schedule
HATTIESBURG, Miss. ? Southern Miss Softball Head Coach Gay McNutt has released the Lady Eagles? tentative schedule for the 2003 season. Next year?s slate features matchups against six Southeastern Conference schools as well as opportunities to face some of the top teams in the country.
?I have been asked if I were going to lighten the schedule next year,? said McNutt who begins her third year at Southern Miss.
The Lady Eagles competed in 18 games against nationally-ranked opponents in 2002 and lost all 18 contests, claiming their first losing season, 28-35, since the reinstatement of the program in 1999.
?We have no intentions of playing a weaker schedule,? said McNutt. ?We won?t play as many doubleheaders as we did in the past, and I think that will help from an endurance factor.
?We intend to be competitive and face the challenges that can prepare us to return to the NCAA Regionals, which is our goal. This is how you get better. It?s not by beating up weaker teams but by competing against the best.?
Eight single games against non-conference opponents appear on next year?s schedule, as well as 12 home dates. The Lady Eagles compete in three invitational tournaments, including the Florida Gators Invitational, a third-consecutive appearance in the NFCA Invitational in Columbus, Ga., and at LSU?s invitational tournament.
Southern Miss opens the spring season at Starkville, Miss., in a single game against in-state rival Mississippi State on Feb. 4. The first home date is a doubleheader against Northwestern (La.) State, on Feb. 11.
The Lady Eagles also will face SEC opponents Alabama, Arkansas and Ole Miss. Another schedule highlight is a doubleheader at nationally-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette on March 15.
Southern Miss will host Alabama in a single game on Feb. 26. LSU comes to Hattiesburg for a single game on April 16.
Conference USA teams that come to the Hub City are Houston (March 5-6), South Florida (March 22-23), Charlotte (April 12-13) and East Carolina (April 26-27). The Conference USA tournament will be held on May 8-10, at the University of Houston.
The Lady Eagles will hold their Fall Classic tournament on Oct. 5. The teams that appear in the event will be announced at a later date. Southern Miss also will appear at the Spring Klein Fall Classic, on Oct. 12-13, in Spring Klein, Texas.
Southern Miss 2002-03 Softball Schedule
Fall
October
5 ? Southern Miss Fall Classic; 12-13 ? at Spring Klein Fall Classic
Spring
February
4 ? at Mississippi State (3 p.m.); 11 ? Northwestern (La.) State (5:30 p.m./DH); 14-16 ? at Florida Gators Invitational; 19 ? at Southeastern Louisiana (6 p.m.); 21-23 ? at NFCA Leadoff Classic; 26 ? Alabama (6 p.m.); 28-March 2 ? at LSU Tournament
March
5 ? Houston (5 p.m./DH); 6 ? Houston (3 p.m.); 11 ? at Northwestern (La.) State (5 p.m./DH); 13 ? at McNeese State (5 p.m./DH); 15 ? at Louisiana-Lafayette (2 p.m./DH); 18 ? at Alabama (6 p.m.); 19 ? at Ole Miss (5 p.m./DH); 22 ? South Florida (1 p.m./DH); 23 ? South Florida (1 p.m.); 26 ? at Arkansas (3 p.m./DH); 29 ? at Louisville (1 p.m./DH); 30 ? Louisville (1 p.m.)
April
3 ? vs. Mississippi State* (TBA); 5 ? at DePaul (Noon/DH); 6 ? at DePaul (Noon); 12 ? Charlotte (1 p.m./DH); 13 ? Charlotte (1 p.m.); 16 ? LSU (6 p.m.); 18 ? at Saint Louis (1 p.m./DH); 19 ? at Saint Louis (1 p.m.); 23 ? Southeastern Louisiana (6 p.m.); 26 ? East Carolina (1 p.m./DH); 27 ? East Carolina (1 p.m.); 29 ? at LSU (6:30 p.m.)
May
3 ? at UAB (1 p.m./DH); 4 ? at UAB (1 p.m.); 8-10 ? Conference USA Tournament (Houston, Texas); 15-18 ? NCAA Regional Tournament; 22-26 ? Women?s College World Series (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
*at Madison, Miss.