GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNC Greensboro will take part in tournaments at Jacksonville University, North Carolina and Georgia Tech and host its annual Spartan Classic as part of its 2010 softball schedule, coach Jennifer Herzig announced Monday.
The Spartans will open the 2010 slate Feb. 12-14 in Jacksonville, Fla., at the JU Tournament, which includes Virginia Tech, Bethune-Cookman and Drexel as well as the Spartans and the host Dolphins. UNCG will kick off the campaign with a game against Virginia Tech at 12:15 p.m. Feb. 12.
From there, UNCG will head to Chapel Hill, N.C., for the Tar Heels’ tournament from Feb. 19-21. The tournament field includes Delaware, Tennessee, UNCG, UNC and another team to be determined.
UNCG will see its first home action Feb. 26-28, when it will host the Spartan Classic. The Spartans will host Cleveland State, Niagara and Sacred Heart for the three-day tournament, which will feature a championship bracket this season.
The Spartans will then head down to Atlanta for Georgia Tech’s annual Buzz Classic on March 5-7 before finally opening Southern Conference play with a three-game series at home against Georgia Southern on March 13-14.
The Tar Heels will come to Greensboro for a single game on March 18 before taking to the road for its first SoCon road series of the year, at College of Charleston on March 20-21.
After that, UNCG will kick off a season-long nine-game homestand on March 24 with a doubleheader against Marshall. Doubleheaders against NC State (March 25) and East Carolina (March 30) follow before a three-game set with Elon on April 3-4.
A doubleheader at Liberty (April 7) precedes a SoCon series at Appalachian State (April 10-11) before UNCG returns home for games against Western Carolina (April 17-18) and North Carolina A&T (April 22).
Road games at Furman (April 24-25) and Charlotte (April 27) are followed by the Spartans’ home finale, which will come against Chattanooga on May 1-2. UNCG wraps up the regular season at Samford on May 8-9.
The SoCon tournament will be May 12-15 at the site of the top seed. Only the top four seeds will make the tournament this season.
The Spartans went 26-33 overall and 9-12 in the league in 2009 to earn the sixth seed at last year’s championship. UNCG won a pair of games at the tournament for the third season in a row.
UNCG’s 2010 schedule
Feb. 12-14 at JU Tournament; Feb. 12 vs. Virginia Tech, 12:15 p.m.; at Jacksonville, 4:45 p.m.; Feb. 13 vs. Drexel, 10 a.m.; vs. Bethune-Cookman, 2:30 p.m.; Feb. 14 at Jacksonville, 1:30 p.m.; Feb. 19-21 at UNC Tournament; Feb. 26 Sacred Heart, 3:30 p.m.; Niagara, 5:30 p.m.; Feb. 27 Cleveland State, 1 p.m.; TBA, 3:30/5:30 p.m.; Feb. 28 TBA, 11 a.m./1 p.m.; March 5-7 at Buzz Classic; March 13 Georgia Southern (DH), 1 p.m.; March 14 Georgia Southern 1 p.m.; March 18 North Carolina, 5 p.m.; March 20 at College of Charleston (DH), 1 p.m.; March 21 at College of Charleston, 1 p.m.; March 24 Marshall (DH), 3 p.m.; March 25 NC State (DH), 3 p.m.; March 30 East Carolina (DH), 3 p.m.; April 2 Elon (DH), 1 p.m.; April 3 Elon, 1 p.m.; April 7 at Liberty (DH), 2 p.m.; April 10 at Appalachian State (DH), 1 p.m. April 11 at Appalachian State, 1 p.m.; April 17 Western Carolina (DH), 1 p.m.; April 18 Western Carolina, 1 p.m.; April 22 North Carolina A&T (DH), 3 p.m.; April 24 at Furman (DH), 1 p.m.; April 25 at Furman, 1 p.m.; April 27 at Charlotte (DH), 4 p.m.; May 1 Chattanooga (DH), 1 p.m.; May 2 Chattanooga, 1 p.m.; May 8 at Samford (DH), 1 p.m.; May 9 at Samford, 1 p.m.; May 12-15 at Southern Conference Championship