FULL 2020 SCHEDULE

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Coming off a string of three-straight Southern Conference Championship titles, UNCG softball opens the 2020 season this coming February at the Carolina Classic in Columbia, S.C. Head Coach Janelle Breneman and company released their final draft of this spring's schedule earlier this week, with Spartan softball set to compete against nine power-five teams in its 35th season, along with nine programs from last year's NCAA Championship Tournament. 

"Our 'Team 35' is composed of valuable veteran experience," says Coach Breneman. "Half our squad competed in the NCAA postseason and that is our mission for 2020. Our underclassmen are eager to join the championship tradition, they are talented players that want to compete on the field wearing the Blue and Gold. This upcoming Spartan Softball team is no doubt blessed with talented, but greater than talent is the drive and passion that fills our locker room. This group wants to achieve something special together and I am looking forward to this upcoming year."

Opening day will take place on February 8th for the Spartans, on the campus of the South Carolina Gamecocks, facing back-to-back neutral site matchups against Southern Illinois and North Dakota State. Facing a doubleheader against Ohio State and South Carolina the following afternoon, all four of the teams the Spartans will face in the Carolina Classic reached the first round of the 2019 National Championship Tournament.

The Spartans will move on to the Winthrop Softball Tournament the following weekend, facing off with ACC-foe Virginia and Eastern Kentucky on the 14th, before finishing the weekend with contests against Boston, Towson and Holy Cross in the proceeding two days.

UNCG's first midweek contest of the season will also be their 2020 home opener, hosting the Clemson Tigers February 18th, at 3:30 PM. The Tigers will be competing in their inaugural season, joining the ranks of an ACC conference that sent four clubs to regionals last year, and produced a single nationally-seeded host. 

Clemson will not be the only ACC-talent to come into UNCG Softball Stadium, with North Carolina joining Fairfield and Purdue for this year's annual UNCG Invitational. The Spartans have hosted the UNCG Invitational in each of the past four years, and will follow up this year's tournament with a Wednesday home matchup against crosstown rival NC A&T on February 26th.

Overall the Spartans will play in five games against teams from the ACC in 2020, competing in road contests against Duke on March 25th, NC State on April 1st and a rematch with the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill on April 7th. 

The Spartans will complete a 10-game home stand from February 18th to March 1st while hosting the Spartan Classic, playing a pair of contests against Dayton on the 29th and the 1st, sandwiched between matchups against Oakland and App State. 

"We will certainly be excited to host two tournaments at home," says Breneman. "We have an amazing stadium, including the addition of a new padded wall to our outfield. Our players love to see our parents and loyal Spartan supporters in the stands. This season our fans will be treated to exciting softball competition all season long. I want to encourage those fans to come out and support this talented group of young ladies, pack the house and cheer on the Spartans." 

After three games in two days against nearby Elon the following weekend, the Spartans host Northern Illinois for a midweek doubleheader on the 11th, before competing in their final weekend tourney before conference play. UNCG faces a pair of games against both host College of Charleston and 2019 NCAA Tournament Team Fordham during the Cougar Classic in Charleston, followed with a final tune up before the start of SoCon play against Winthrop on the 18th.

The Spartans officially start conference-play with a three-game series against ETSU in Johnson City, Tenn., beginning with a Saturday doubleheader with the Bucs. The road toward a fourth straight SoCon Championship continues into April with home series against Furman and Mercer, followed by three games on the road at Western Carolina the next weekend. The Spartans will get their chance to enact payback on the team that knocked them out of last year's SoCon Tournament with three home contests against Chattanooga from April 18-19th.

UNCG's final seven regular season games will take place on the road, playing three in College Station, against a Texas A&M side that reached last year's Austin Regional in the NCAA Tournament. This will be the Spartans' first three-game series against a team from the state of Texas, and their first competition against a team from the Lone Star State since facing Stephen F. Austin in 2005. 

The regular season ends in Birmingham for the Spartans, with Samford standing as UNCG's final test before the SoCon Tournament being held at UNCG Softball Stadium from May 6-9th. The hosts will be looking for their second SoCon Tournament Championship of the past three years, and a return trip to the NCAA Championship Tournament, which starts May 14-17th. 

-- UNCG –