Michigan State University Athletics
Spartan Softball Readies for 2015 Slate
1/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
East Lansing, Michigan - A 20-game home schedule and non-conference games against schools from 17 different conferences (including six NCAA Tournament teams and eight conference champions) comprises Michigan State's 2015 schedule, which was recently finalized by head coach Jacquie Joseph.
"We're always looking to create a slate of non-conference games that will challenge and prepare us for a rigorous Big Ten schedule," noted Joseph. "We'll play the top three teams from last year's Big Ten standings, and there's never an easy game within the conference schedule. As for our non-conference games, we're going to see 25 teams that had 25 wins or more last year - so it will really be good for us."
Joseph's squad will enter the season with five newcomers and 13 returning letterwinners, which includes eight starters from a year ago. Most importantly, talented newcomers and returns several players to the active roster after a rash of injuries left the Spartans with a limited bench a year ago.
Michigan State opens the season February 6-8 at the Stetson Invitational, its annual destination to start the season. The Spartans will play five games against Rhode Island, Morehead State, Akron (twice) and the host Hatters. MSU returns to Florida for the Florida Atlantic Tournament the following weekend, and will take on Tulsa, Providence, and Drexel in addition to playing the host Owls twice. The Spartans travel to Riverside, California to take on Utah State, San Diego, and UC-Riverside in a four-game tournament in week three, then wrap up February at the Florida International Tournament in Miami against the host Panthers, Ole Miss, and Bethune-Cookman.
MSU's spring break will feature tournaments at Central Florida (with Kent State and Bradley, March 7-8) and the Mercer Invitational in Macon, Georgia (March 13-15), where MSU will have two games each against the host school and Alabama A&M in addition to a single contest against Youngstown State.
MSU's northern season starts on March 20, as the Spartans open Big Ten play with a three-game series at Nebraska (March 20-22). MSU plays two other road Big Ten series: at Rutgers (April 3-5) and Indiana, (April 24-26). The Spartans will also host four series in Big Ten play, against Penn State (March 27-29), Ohio State (April 10-12), Minnesota (April 17-19), and Maryland (May 1-3). Michigan State and Michigan will meet in a pair of home-and-home midweek contests, in East Lansing on Wed. April 15 and in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, April 23.
The Spartans will also play seven non-conference midweek games around their Big Ten schedule, with six of them coming at Secchia Stadium: against Detroit (March 24), Toledo (April 8), Eastern Michigan (April 14), Western Michigan (April 22), and Notre Dame (April 28); the lone road non-conference contest will be at Central Michigan on Wednesday, April 29, in advance of the final weekend of the season vs. Maryland.
Dates and times of games are tentative and subject to change, and fans should check back to MSUSpartans.com for the most updated schedule information.
