Softball Releases 2011 Schedule
October 22, 2010 | Softball
Oct. 22, 2010
Complete Schedule in PDF Format 
University of Louisville softball head coach Sandy Pearsall has announced the 2011 season schedule. The Cardinals will match up against four teams which finished last season ranked in the top 25 as well as nine 2010 NCAA tournament participants. Additionally, Ulmer Stadium will serve as the host site for the 2011 BIG EAST Conference Championship for the fourth straight year.
"This is a challenging schedule against some top-level teams," said Pearsall. "We have our work cut out for us, but I am confident in our returning players and look forward to the contribution of our newcomers."
The 2011 schedule is highlighted by 9/8 Alabama, No. 10/11 Michigan, No. 18/19 Texas, No. 22/24 Ohio State as well as a challenging BIG EAST Conference schedule.
The Cards finished last season with a 41-18 record for their fifth 40-win season in program history. Louisville returns 14 letterwinners from last year's squad including reigning BIG EAST Conference Player of the Year, Chelsea Bemis along with all-conference team members: Tori Collins, Kristin Austin, Colby Wherry and Alicja Wolny. The returning players will be joined by five incoming freshmen for the 2011 season.
Louisville will open the season with six conference tournaments. They will begin the season on Feb. 10 at the Texas Invitational in Austin, Texas where they will face Texas, Northern Illinois, and Tulsa.
The next weekend they will travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala. to participate in the `Bama Bash where they will face UT San Antonio, BIG EAST Conference tournament champion Syracuse along with host Alabama which advanced to the 2010 NCAA Super Regional.
The Cardinals will open play at Ulmer Stadium Feb. 25-27 when they host the Red & Black Tournament. They will then hit the road to Cookeville, Tenn. to take part in the Tennessee Tech Combat Classic, facing Middle Tennessee, North Carolina State, Tennessee Tech, Belmont and Samford throughout the weekend.
After a return to Ulmer Stadium for the Louisville Invitational March 12-13 against Michigan and Western Kentucky, the Cards will finish tournament play at the San Diego Classic II in San Diego, Calif. There the team will match up against Cal State Northridge, Wisconsin, Ohio University, and NCAA regional teams San Diego State and Ohio State.
The Cardinals will open a four-game home stand on March 23 when they host in-state rival and NCAA regional participant Kentucky. They will also begin BIG EAST play with a three game series against Villanova before hitting the road to face regional participant DePaul in a nonconference doubleheader in Chicago.
April begins with a three-game series against Seton Hall and a matchup with Indiana, at Ulmer Stadium. Louisville will travel to Pittsburgh for three games on April 9-10 before returning to Ulmer Stadium to host Connecticut in a doubleheader April 15. They will head to South Bend, Ind. to play 2010 NCAA regional team Notre Dame in a three game series before a rematch against Kentucky in Lexington on April 20. The Cards will close out the month of April with a three-game home stand against Providence for the last regular season home series of the season.
Louisville will open the month of May on the road when they travel to Washington D.C. for a doubleheader at Georgetown on May 4 and then conclude the regular season with a three-game series at Syracuse.
For the fourth year in a row, Ulmer Stadium has been chosen as the site of the BIG EAST championship. The league's top eight teams will compete for the BIG EAST crown May 12-14, 2011.
