University of Kentucky second-year head softball coach Eileen Schmidt has released the 2006 schedule which features 25 matchups against 2005 NCAA tournament participants.
Schmidt returns 12 players from the 2004 team that finished 20-41. Seniors Meghan Cooper, Megan Glenn, Amy Kendall, Lori Melchi all return for their final season, while the Wildcats welcome six newcomers to the 2006 roster.
The Wildcats open the 2006 slate Feb. 10-12 in Las Vegas at the UNLV Alexis Resort Kick-off Tournament which features Washington, Oklahoma, Long Beach State and UNLV. UK then hosts Kent State for three games before heading back out west for San Diego?s Aztec Invitational, Feb. 24-26. The Wildcats will then host a three-day, five-team tournament, March 3-5, in Lexington.
?We have two quality tournaments in Las Vegas and San Diego,? said Schmidt. ?In Las Vegas, we will open up with two very tough opponents in Oklahoma and Washington. We tried to be a little more forgiving in our travel with the home set against Kent State and our tournament in early March.?
The Cats will play at Eastern Kentucky, Mar. 8, before setting off on its longest roadtrip of the year, Mar. 11-19. UK will open Southeastern Conference competition as they play nine games on the 10-day trip to Auburn, Georgia and South Carolina.
UK?s SEC home schedule opens on Mar. 25 when LSU comes to town, followed by a pair of back-to-back series with Tennessee and Alabama who both advanced to the College World Series a year ago.
The Cats then take a break from conference play to host Ohio and Western Kentucky. They then travel to take on Indiana before returning to SEC play against Arkansas, Apr. 14-15, in Lexington.
A trip to intrastate rival Louisville on Apr. 19 is followed by a three-game set in Florida, Apr. 22-23. UK then hosts UofL and EKU before their last road trip of the season, Apr. 29-30, to take on Ole Miss. The regular season wraps up with a three-game series against Mississippi State, May 6-7, in Lexington.
?Just like every year, we want to put ourselves in a good position when the SEC season begins in March,? said Schmidt. ?Obviously, our goal is to make the top eight in the league and get to Athens for the SEC tournament. I think this schedule will help us do that.?
