October 20, 2010

GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG's softball team will host 21 home games, including its annual Spartan Classic, play four ACC teams and participate in four regular-season tournaments in 2011, coach Jennifer Herzig announced Wednesday.

The Spartans will open the season Florida State's Seminole Kick Off Classic from Feb. 11-13 in Tallahassee, Fla. There, UNCG will play the host Seminoles as well as St. John's and Hofstra.

The following weekend, UNCG will head to Charlotte, N.C., for the Charlotte 49ers' First Pitch Classic. That field includes Charlotte, Eastern Kentucky and St. Francis (Pa.) in addition to the Spartans.

The third week of the season will see UNCG host the Spartan Classic from Feb. 25-27. This year's field will be one of the most competitive ever, as Kansas, Minnesota and Morehead State will join the Spartans in the tourney.

On March 4-6, UNCG will head down to the Atlanta area for Georgia Tech's Buzz Classic, a huge annual tournament that often includes around 20 teams.

The Spartans will get into doubleheader play on March 9, hosting Charlotte for a twinbill to kick off a stretch of eight out of 10 games at home. College of Charleston comes to town to open Southern Conference play on March 19-20, then UNCG will play at NC State on March 23. The Spartans will host Furman for a three-game set from March 26-27 before hitting the road for the next five games.

A doubleheader at Virginia Tech on March 29 is followed by three games at Western Carolina on April 2-3. UNCG returns home for a doubleheader against Liberty on April 6 but is right back on the road a few days later for a three-game set at Chattanooga.

UNCG wraps up the road swing with a doubleheader on April 13 at North Carolina, the Spartans' fourth ACC opponent of the season.

Appalachian State comes to UNCG for a three-game series on April 16-17 before the Spartans head to Statesboro, Ga. – the site of this year's SoCon Championship – for a series against Georgia Southern on April 22-23.

On April 27, the Spartans will head across town for a doubleheader at North Carolina A&T, marking the eighth straight season the squads will meet.

UNCG's final home series will be against Samford on April 30 and May 1 before the Spartans make the short trip to Elon for a series on May 7-8. The Spartans and Phoenix met in the SoCon title game last season, with Elon taking its first-ever title.

"We're excited about our schedule for the 2011 season," Herzig said. "We've got outstanding competition from start to finish, including appearing at some nationally known tournaments, four dates on the road against ACC schools and the always-challenging Southern Conference schedule. On top of that, we have what is undeniably the strongest field we've ever had at the Spartan Classic. It's a challenging schedule, but we're really looking forward to the start of another season of Spartan softball."

UNCG went 27-30 last season, including a 12-11 mark in the SoCon for the Spartans' first winning season in league play since 2003. UNCG also appeared in the league tournament title game for the first time in school history.

The Spartans bring back first-team all-region performer Alex Emeterio, as well as second-team All-SoCon pick Eileen Horsmon and Kaitlin Merkt, who was second-team All-SoCon in 2009.

2011 UNCG softball schedule
Feb. 11-13 at Seminole Kick Off Classic (Tallahassee, Fla.); Feb. 18-20 at First Pitch Classic (Charlotte, N.C.); Feb. 25-27 UNCG Spartan Classic; March 4-6 at Buzz Classic (Woodstock, Ga.); March 9 vs. Charlotte (DH), 3 p.m.; March 19 vs. College of Charleston (DH)*, 1 p.m.; March 20 vs. College of Charleston*, 1 p.m.; March 23 at NC State (DH), 3 p.m.; March 26 vs. Furman (DH)*, 1 p.m.; March 27 vs. Furman*, 1 p.m.; March 29 at Virginia Tech (DH), 5 p.m.; April 2 at Western Carolina (DH)*, 1 p.m.; April 3 at Western Carolina*, 1 p.m.; April 6 vs. Liberty (DH), 3 p.m.; April 9 at Chattanooga (DH)*, 1 p.m.; April 10 at Chattanooga*, 2 p.m.; April 13 at North Carolina (DH), 4 p.m.; April 16 vs. Appalachian State (DH)*, 1 p.m.; April 17 vs. Appalachian State*, 1 p.m.; April 22 at Georgia Southern (DH)*, 3 p.m.; April 23 at Georgia Southern*, 1 p.m.; April 27 at North Carolina A&T (DH), 2 p.m.; April 30 vs. Samford (DH)*, 1 p.m.; May 1 vs. Samford*, 1 p.m.; May 7 at Elon (DH)*, 1 p.m.; May 8 at Elon*, 1 p.m.; May 11-14 at Southern Conference Championship (Statesboro, Ga.)

* Southern Conference games

- UNCG -