The Radford University softball program announced its 2022 non-conference slate Friday. The schedule features 13 unique opponents spread out across three months.
Radford’s home non-conference schedule is highlighted by two home games against programs that advanced to the super regionals in last season’s NCAA Tournament: Virginia Tech on Feb. 23 and host James Madison University on March 16. JMU competed in the World Series before coming up just one win short of the finals.
The season opens on Feb. 11 as the Highlanders travel to Statesboro, Ga., to compete in a tournament against opponents not yet determined. This will mark Coach Alisa Tasler’s first official games at the helm for the Highlanders.
Radford will then set its sights the following week to\\on Chattanooga where the Highlanders are set to face SIU Edwardsville, Indiana State, Purdue Fort Wayne, Chattanooga, and Tennessee Tech. The opening days of the tournament will feature three teams the Highlanders have not The Highlanders and Sycamores of Indiana State have not met since 2013.
The team returns to the New River Valley on Feb. 23 for its lone home non-conference game against Virginia Tech. The two schools have a deep history against each other spanning back to 1996. After that, it’s back to the road for RU for a three-game series at East Tennessee State University. The Highlanders and Buccaneers have faced each other 32 times with Radford owning the series edge, 20-12.
Madeira Beach, Fla., will play host to the Highlanders’ spring break tournament this season starting on March 4. On the first day of competition, Radford is set to play Rhode Island and Southern Miss with Southern Miss being another first-time opponent for the program. Day two features yet another first meeting between two programs as Radford will face Omaha (Nebraska). The Highlanders will finish up their trip on March 6 against Middle Tennessee State University and Long Island University. Radford then returns home a week later for one of their biggest non-conference matches of the season when they host James Madison on March 16.
Radford will delve into conference play after their spring break travel. The Highlanders will renew an old Big South match-up with UNC Greensboro in a doubleheader on March 30 before closing out their non-conference slate at Virginia Tech on May 4.
“We had a very productive fall,” said Tasler. “I felt like we improved a lot. We will be very young this year, but I think we will be ready to go out and really compete hard in this upcoming preseason. This is where we make those final decisions on what we will look like when we hit the field during conference play.”