One team that made it all the way to the Women’s College World Series and a couple other NCAA Tournament teams highlight the University of Arkansas softball nonconference schedule, which was released Wednesday.
The Razorbacks, who are coming off their most successful season in school history, will travel Harrisonburg, Va., to face James Madison in their own tournament, March 11-13. Arkansas, which claimed a share of the SEC regular-season title, lost in the super regional to Arizona — just one step short of the College World Series.
The Razorbacks will take on the Dukes, who advanced to the national semifinals last season. They will also take on Maryland and Lehigh twice in the Dukes Invitational. Arkansas will also play at Liberty on that same road trip.
Arkansas will also take on Kennesaw State, which defeated Auburn in the NCAA Tournament last season, as part of the Razorback Rumble (March 3-6). Missouri State and Kansas City are also a part of the tournament field.
Arkansas is scheduled to play 27 games against teams that qualified for last year’s NCAA Tournament.
In addition, Arkansas will face Wichita State, which made the NCAA Tournament, in a matchup of two of the top returning power-hitting teams in the country as part of the Razorback Invitational (Feb. 18-20) in Bogle Park. The remainder of that field includes Illinois, Western Illinois and Longwood.
The Razorbacks open the season at Puerto Vallarta College Challenge on Feb. 10, but that schedule has not been determined.
Arkansas welcomes Louisville on Feb. 24, before hosting the Wooo Pig Classic (Feb. 25-27) later that weekend. Arkansas will play Nebraska and Southeast Missouri twice with a single game against Kansas. The Hogs play in-state foe Central Arkansas at Bogle Park for the first of a home-and-home series at 5 p.m. March 1.
Arkansas dives into SEC play the following weekend on the road at Tennessee (March 18-20) before hosting its first SEC series against LSU (March 26-28).