Ohio State Unveils 2015 Schedule – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Nov. 21, 2014
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Nineteen regular season games at Buckeye Field, including home conference series against NCAA Super Regional participates Nebraska and Michigan, highlight Ohio State’s 2015 schedule, head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly announced today. In addition, the Buckeyes will also travel to the prestigious Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, Calif., and host the 2015 Big Ten Tournament, scheduled for May 7-9.
“The 2015 campaign is filled with tough preseason opponents and an unbelievable home schedule, highlighted by hosting the 2015 Big Ten Championships May 7-9,” said Kovach Schoenly. “We will travel the country early and will be battle-tested for the Big Ten season. We’re excited to have the opportunity to play in front of our home fans at Buckeye Field a minimum of 20 times during both the regular season and post season. With less than three months before the start of the season, the team is ready to continue the momentum with which we finished last season.”
The 2015 season kicks off Feb. 6-8 in Charleston, S.C. at the Charleston Southern Tournament. Ohio State will play Southern Illinois twice in addition to UMBC and host Charleston Southern, the defending Big South Conference champions.
From there, Ohio State travels to Arlington, Texas, for the Maverick invitational, hosted by UT-Arlington. The Buckeyes have games against Buffalo (Feb. 13), UT-Arlington (Feb. 13), Grambling State (Feb. 14) and Sam Houston (Feb. 15).
The next weekend, Ohio State is part of the always-competitive Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, Fla. The Buckeyes begin play on Friday, Feb. 20 with games against UNLV and Fresno State, following by a matchup on Feb. 21 against 2014 NCAA Super Regional participant UCLA. Ohio State closes out competition on Sunday, Feb. 22 against Utah.
From Feb. 27 through March 1, the Buckeyes will be in Auburn, Alabama for the Wilson/Demarini Classic, hosted by Auburn. Ohio State opens the tournament against Connecticut on Feb. 27 at 1 p.m. before facing the host Auburn Tigers later in the day at 5:30 p.m. The Buckeyes also take on Samford (Feb. 28) and SIU-Edwardsville (March 1).
The first full weekend in March brings a trip to the Pacific Northwest, as Ohio State travels to Seattle, Wash., for the Husky Classic. It will also serve as a homecoming for senior outfielder Taylor Watkins, who is from Bonney Lake, Wash. The Buckeyes will face the host Washington Huskies twice (March 7 and 8) in addition to Miami (Ohio) (March 6) and Cal State Northridge (March 7).
From there, Ohio State returns home to open the home portion of its schedule against 2014 NCAA Tournament participant Louisville on March 18. Michigan, regular season co-champions of the Big Ten last year and a NCAA Super Regional participant, comes to Columbus to open conference play March 20-22. The Buckeyes close out the six-game homestand by hosting in-state foe Wright State for a doubleheader on March 24.
The first conference road trip will take Ohio State to Big Ten-newcomer Maryland March 27-29. Pittsburgh comes to Buckeye Field for a midweek doubleheader on March 31, following by a three-game Big Ten series (April 3-5) against Nebraska, who shared the 2014 regular season title with Michigan.
Ohio State’s only midweek conference games will be a doubleheader at Penn State on March 8, followed by a trip to East Lansing, Mich. for a three-game series (April 10-12) against Michigan State. From there, the Buckeyes have a five-game homestand including a three-game set against conference-newcomer Rutgers (April 17-19) and a doubleheader against defending MAC champion Ohio on April 21.
The season’s final roadtrip is to Northwestern (April 24-26), one of five Big Ten school to make the NCAA Tournament last year. Ohio State then returns to Columbus to host Indiana (May 1-3) and the Big Ten Tournament (May 7-9). It will be the first time since 2007 that the conference tournament is at Buckeye Field.
Ohio State returns two first team All-Big Ten members from 2014 – senior Taylor Watkins and junior Cammi Prantl. Other returning starters include Big Ten All-Tournament team selection Caitlin Conrad, sophomore infielder Anna Kirk and senior shortstop Keelia Nester. In the circle, Ohio State welcomes back senior Olivia O’Reilly along with sophomore Shelby Hursh, who led the conference in saves last year.
