LEXINGTON, Ky. ? University of Kentucky first-year head softball coach Rachel Lawson has released the 2008 schedule which features four tournaments, 28 home contests and matchups against 10 teams that advanced to the NCAA Regionals in 2007.
Kentucky?s third head coach in school history will field 15 players in her inaugural season at the helm, led by sophomores Molly Johnson and Natalie Smith. Both players were named to the SEC All-Freshman team a year ago.
Lawson will make her UK coaching debut in Chattanooga, Tenn., Feb. 9-10 at the Chattanooga Shootout which features Wichita State and host Chattanooga. UK will play its first home contest on Feb. 23-24 when it entertains Toledo for a three-game series at the UK Softball Complex.
The Cats will head to Hawaii, Feb. 14-17, for the Rainbow Classic. Hawaii, Long Beach State and Central Florida make up the four-team field. Kentucky will make a return trip to Chattanooga for the Chattanooga Frost Classic Feb. 29-March 1. The Blue and White will face Connecticut, Eastern Illinois, Indiana, Marshall and Wright State.
Prior to hosting the third annual Frostbite Classic, Kentucky will face Louisville at home for the first of two matchups with their intrastate rival. UK?s annual tournament is a two-day three-team tournament that will pit the Wildcats against Longwood and Valparaiso.
Southeastern Conference play begins with an opening weekend against NCAA runner-up Tennessee in Knoxville, March 15-16. UK will then return home for a seven-game homestand that features matchups with Miami (Ohio), Minnesota, Drake and SEC-foe Alabama.
UK will then travel to Louisville, before welcoming South Carolina and Indiana. Kentucky hits the road for a double header against Mississippi State before traveling to Oxford for a three game series against Ole Miss, April 5-6.
The Cats host LSU and Arkansas before taking the road to Columbus, Ohio, for a mid-week showdown with Ohio State on April 16. Kentucky also faces Florida in Gainesville that week, before concluding its home slate. The Blue and White will host Eastern Kentucky before entertaining Georgia, April 26-27.
Kentucky concludes the regular season on the road in Alabama. A three-game series with Auburn wraps up play May 3-4.
