DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University softball program is coming off its most successful season at the NCAA Division I level and will be looking to take it another step this spring with a team motto of “Every Day is for May” heading into a challenging 52-game regular season schedule for 2016 that was announced on Thursday.
The Lady Eagles doubled up their win total from nine in 2014 to 18 in 2015 and will be eyeing a winning record and postseason expectations in May after NCCU competes its way through a slate of 28 regular-season opponents, including showdowns with eight MEAC institutions, trips to five states, four tournaments and a pair of matchups against ACC competition.
NCCU will play 18 of its first 20 games in four weekend tournaments over the course of the first month starting with the Kennesaw State University Kick-Off Classic and followed by the USC Upstate Invitational, the UNC Wilmington Seahawk Classic and UNCG Spartan Classic. Some of the Lady Eagles early-season, neutral-site opponents feature Loyola Chicago, Murray State, East Tennessee State, Kent State, Oakland, Bucknell, Brown and Rutgers.
Fans of the Maroon and Gray will first be able to catch the Lady Eagles at home in an exhibition against Pitt Community College on Wednesday, Feb. 17 before NCCU makes its regular-season home debut against MEAC member Howard University on Tuesday, Feb. 23.
NCCU will play 36 of its 52 games on the road with just 16 games at its Parkwood Athletic Field. The Lady Eagles will also host just 10 non-conference home games, including Charlotte and Drexel for a single game apiece and Maryland Eastern Shore and Gardner-Webb in doubleheaders in March.
A pair of showdowns at Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) members Georgia Tech and Louisville highlight NCCU’s non-conference travels. The Lady Eagles play at Georgia Tech to begin a spring break trip that will also include a visit to Presbyterian. After a quick trip to Norfolk State in mid-April, NCCU will swing over to Kentucky to play Louisville (April 16-17) in a three-game weekend series that following weekend.
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference is once again broken into two divisions in softball with the Lady Eagles competing in the Southern tier. NCCU will play three of its five league series (three games apiece) on the road at Bethune-Cookman (April 9-10), South Carolina State (April 23-24) and rival North Carolina A&T State (April 30-May 1).
The Lady Eagles will host its first two conference series, beginning with an Easter weekend matchup versus Florida A&M (Mar. 25-26). NCCU hosts Savannah State (April 2-3) the following weekend. Both of those key series will feature promotions with Friday, Mar. 25 against the Rattlers serving as Military Day and Saturday, April 2 against the Lady Tigers being connected as a fundraiser awareness day for Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer.
NCCU will gear up for postseason play with one last non-conference doubleheader against Appalachian State on Saturday, May 7. The Mountaineers will be visiting on the NCCU’s designated Senior Day.
The 2016 MEAC Softball Tournament will once again be hosted by Bethune-Cookman at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex in Florida on the weekend of May 12-14.