2018 Softball Schedule Released

University of Louisville head softball coach Sandy Pearsall announced the Cardinals 2018 schedule, which features games against six teams who qualified for the 2017 NCAA Tournament and three opponents who finished in the final ESPN.com/USA Softball and USA Today/NFCA top 25 polls of 2017. The Cardinals will play 23 games at Ulmer Stadium, including two tournaments.

"We always try to put together a challenging schedule for our team," said head coach Sandy Pearsall. "Even with the youth on our team, I think this group is ahead of where we were last year at this point, so I think early on, this schedule will really help them prepare for the ACC. Once we get into conference play, we will see some tough competition – notably from programs like Florida State and Notre Dame, but from top to bottom, there will be no easy matchups. This is a schedule that I feel could certainly put us in good position for the postseason."

The Cardinals will kick off 2018 with a trip to Orlando, Fla. on Feb. 9-11 for the UCF Softball Invitational, where they will play five games against UCF, Butler, Providence, North Florida, and South Alabama. Louisville will remain south for the ACC/Big 10 Challenge on Feb. 16-18, where they will square off against Northwestern and 2017 Regional qualifier Ohio State, playing each team twice in Raleigh, N.C.

Less than one week later, the Cardinals will head back to Orlando for their final road tournament of the regular season at the D-9 Citrus Classic 1 on Feb. 23-25. Louisville will face two 2017 NCAA Tournament participants in Lehigh and No. 25 South Carolina, along with Morgan State, South Alabama, and Harvard.

The Cardinals will then return to Louisville for a 16-game home stand, including playing host to two consecutive tournaments. First, the Cards will welcome Eastern Illinois, Maryland, IUPUI, and Miami-Ohio to Ulmer Stadium on March 2-4 for the Red and Black Classic. On March 9-11, Eastern Michigan, Massachusetts, and Bradley will join UofL at Ulmer Stadium for the Louisville Classic.

ACC play will begin on March 16-18 when Notre Dame visits Louisville for a three-game series. The Cardinals will then hit the road for the first time in nearly a month to take on Indiana on March 20 in Bloomington.

Returning to ACC action, Louisville will travel to Durham, N.C. for another three-game series with Duke from March 23-25. The Cardinals will then head back west for a game against Lipscomb in Nashville, Tenn. on March 28.

After a week on the road, Louisville will return home on March 30-31 to host NC State in a three-game series, including a double header on the opening day. That same week, the Cards will travel to Lexington on April 4 for the Battle of the Bluegrass against 2017 Super Regional qualifier, No. 17 Kentucky.

On April 6-8, the Cardinals will return to the friendly confines of Ulmer Stadium for a three-game series against Virginia before making a trip to New York to face off against Syracuse on April 13-15 in yet another three-game sequence.

Continuing on their six-game road stand, Louisville will head back to Florida for a marquee matchup against their second 2017 NCAA Super Regional qualifier Florida State. The No. 10 Seminoles and the Cards will play their three-game series from April 20-22.

In their final four home games of the season, the Cards will host the Boston College Eagles for an ACC series from April 27-29. Rounding out their home slate, Louisville will welcome Marshall to Ulmer Stadium for a midweek tilt on May 2.

The regular season will conclude on May 4-6 when the Cardinals take on the Pittsburgh Panthers in a three game series in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The top eight teams in the conference will convene in Atlanta, Ga. for the 2018 ACC Softball Championship, which will be held on May 10-12.

UofL finished the 2017 season with an overall record of 31-19 and a 14-8 record in conference play. As the No. 2 seed in the ACC Championships, the Cardinals season came to an end at the hand of NC State in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals. Louisville returns 11 players and six starters from last season. In addition to the returning players, the Cards welcome 10 newcomers to the 2017-18 squad.

University of Louisville Athletics

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