Wolverines Announce 54-Game Schedule for 2018 Season
11/13/2017 12:27:00 PM | Softball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan softball team and head coach Carol Hutchins announced today (Monday, Nov. 13) the Wolverines' 2018 schedule, consisting of challenging 54-game regular-season slate that includes 16 home games at the Wilpon Complex, home of Alumni Field.
Michigan's 2018 schedule also features seven opponents who reached the NCAA Tournament a year ago, including Baylor and Florida, which both reached the 2017 Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Michigan will kick off the season, the program's 41st of intercollegiate play, at the annual Wilson-Demarini Tournament, scheduled for Feb. 9-11 in Tampa, Florida. Among its five-game slate at the annual USF tournament, Michigan will face perennial power Florida, the 2017 WCWS runner-up.
The squad will then hit the road to Tallahassee, Florida, to take on Notre Dame and Florida State twice each in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge (Feb. 16-18) before splitting its spring-break week between the Texas Invitational, slated for Feb. 23-25 in Austin Texas, and the annual Judi Garman Classic from March 1-3 in Fullerton, California. The Wolverines will face 2017 NCAA Tournament participants Baylor and Louisiana Lafayette at the latter tournament.
Michigan will wrap up preseason tournament competition at the FAU Tournament (March 9-11) in Boca Raton, Florida, and Miami Invitational (March 17-18) in Oxford, Ohio.
U-M will face in-state foe Central Michigan in its home opener on March 21 at Alumni Field and open Big Ten Conference play with a road series at Iowa (March 23-25). The Wolverines will host Big Ten matchups against Purdue (March 30-April 1), Michigan State (April 11), Rutgers (April 13-15), Maryland (April 20-22), Indiana (April 28-30) and Ohio State (May 4-6).
Hutchins, the winningest coach in NCAA softball history, is in her 34th season with the Wolverines. U-M returns 17 letterwinners and welcomes a talented five-member freshman class that combined for four All-America honors and 14 all-state accolades and includes four nationally ranked prospects. Among Michigan's returning players are a pair of NFCA All-Americans in senior first baseman/RHP Tera Blanco and junior second baseman Faith Canfield.
Renewals for current season-ticket holders will be made available in mid-December. Pending availability and inventory, new season tickets could become available in January. For more ticket information and details, please visit the softball ticket page.
