Alabama Softball Releases 2014 Schedule

Alabama head softball coach Patrick Murphy announced the 2014 schedule this week. The schedule features 26 home contests as well as two tournaments hosted at Rhoads Stadium.

“As we go along it gets tougher and tougher,” Murphy said. “When you have older pitchers you try to challenge them a little bit more. Jackie [Traina] is ready to go, Leslie [Jury] is ready to go.”

Alabama's strength of schedule will be near the best in the nation once again. The Tide plays against 18 teams that made it to the NCAA Tournament in 2013, which means 33 of the Tide’s 56 games will come against opponents who appeared in last year’s Tournament.

Alabama will play in four regular season tournaments, including its annual Bama Bash, as well as the Crimson Classic.

Alabama opens its schedule with a road trip to Troy Feb. 7-9, for a tournament featuring Kennesaw State, Middle Tennessee State, North Florida, Northwestern State and Troy University.

UA then travels to Tucson, Ariz. for five games, featuring Grand Canyon, Georgia Tech, New Mexico, Tennessee State and host Arizona.

The Tide opens the home portion of its schedule with the Bama Bash, Feb. 21-23, followed by a midweek game at fellow NCAA Tournament participant UAB.

Alabama returns to Rhoads Stadium to host the Crimson Classic, Feb. 28 – March 2, which features two additional 2013 NCAA Tournament participants with Florida State and Houston.

After a midweek game at Samford, Alabama opens conference play in Tuscaloosa with a three-game series against South Carolina, March 7-9.

Alabama welcomes Mississippi Valley to Tuscaloosa on March 11 and then travels to Oxford, Miss. for a three-game series with the Ole Miss Rebels.

The Tide returns home for a midweek game against Georgia State on March 9, before traveling to Florida to play the 2013 Women’s College World Series participant Gators March 21-23, as well as a single game against Jacksonville University on March 25.

UA begins an eight-game homestand when they welcome LSU on March 28-30, South Alabama on April 2, Arkansas on April 4-6 and rounds out its homestand with a single midweek game against UAB on April 9.

Alabama then travels to Starkville for a three-game series against Mississippi State on March 8-10, followed by a trip to Montgomery for a single non-conference game against Auburn on April 16. When it became apparent the in-state rivals were not slated to play during the SEC regular season, a midweek affair was set.

The Tide travels to Chapel Hill to play games April 18 against Georgia Southern and North Carolina, followed by a single game on April 19 against the Tar Heels.

Alabama plays a midweek game at Southern Mississippi on April 22 before wrapping up its home slate with a three-game series against Georgia April 24-26.

Alabama concludes its regular season with a three-game series in Columbia, Mo., against Missouri May 1-3.

“No matter who you play in the SEC, it is going to be a tough series,” Murphy said. “It is just like football and baseball, if you don’t show up ready to play you are going to get beat. Home or away it doesn’t matter. ”

The SEC Tournament is in Columbia, S.C., on May 8-10. NCAA postseason play is scheduled to begin on May 15. The Women's College World Series will once again be held in Oklahoma City and will start on May 29.