MIAMI (Jan. 15, 2019) – The 2019 FIU softball schedule was unveiled on Tuesday, as the Panthers prepare for a new season at Felsberg Field.
"The 2019 schedule presents several good challenges for our team," head coach Heather Gelbard said. "We will face strong non-conference competition in our preseason tournament in order to be prepared for C-USA play."
The Panthers will play a total of 46 games in 2019, with 28 of those being played at the friendly confines of Felsberg Field. Power-5 foes Michigan State (Feb. 8), Rutgers (Feb. 22-23), Boston College (March 7), Purdue (March 8) and Notre Dame (March 13) all travel to Miami to take on the Panthers in 2019.
"I'm excited by the number of home games we will play, as well as the number of games we will play within the state of Florida," Gelbard said. "We have a lot of homegrown kids on our roster, and it will provide our Panther fans numerous opportunities to see the team play. I'm excited to see this team take the field February 8th, we have a hard-working squad that will be fun to watch."
Opening Day will be on Feb. 8 at home as the Panthers host Memphis to kickoff the Felsberg Invitational. February will feature a total of three tournaments overall, with two of those being played at home. The aforementioned Felsberg Invitational (Feb. 8-10), FGCU Tournament (Feb. 15-16) and the FIU Panther Invitational (Feb. 22-24).
Moving into March, the Panthers will take part in two more tournaments with the first taking place in Madeira Beach, Florida (March 1-3), while the next will be a joint effort between FIU and FAU as the two schools host the FAU/FIU Invitational (March 8-10).
Conference USA action will begin on March 16 when WKU rolls into town to take on the Panthers at Felsberg Field. The Panthers hit the road for the first time in league play with a trip to Murfreesboro, Tennessee as FIU faces Middle Tennessee on March 23-24.
During the month of April the Panthers will play FGCU (April 10), Marshall (April 13-14), Southern Miss (April 27-28) at home, while traveling to FAU (April 6-7), Charlotte (April 19-20) and UCF (April 24).
The 2019 softball season will wrap up in El Paso, Texas on May 4, when FIU faces UTEP to close out the year.
The 2019 C-USA Tournament is scheduled to run from May 8 to May 11 in Birmingham, Alabama, while the NCAA Regionals begin on May 17-19.
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