Kentucky Releases 2019 Southeastern Conference Schedule
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky Softball team released its 2019 non-conference schedule on Monday afternoon. The Wildcats will play four road series and four series at John Cropp Stadium, all three-game series against teams that made at least the regional round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
The SEC schedule rotation works on a three-year cycle. Each team plays eight SEC series per year, with four being home and four away. There are four teams that each team will not play every season. For 2019, Kentucky will not play Florida, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Georgia.
The SEC season kicks off in March on the 8-10 in Columbia, S.C. as the Wildcats will face the South Carolina Gamecocks, who advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals in 2018. Last season in Lexington, UK beat USC two games out of three in the final regular-season series of the season.
The SEC slate of home matches kicks off on March 15-17 against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The two teams did not play last season, and the Wildcats swept MSU the last time the two teams played in Lexington in 2016.
UK will stay at home for another series on March 22-24 to play host to the Missouri Tigers. Larissa Anderson is entering her first year in charge of the Mizzou softball program and will be looking to snap the Tigers’ four-game losing streak that they currently hold against UK.
Kentucky closes the month of March on the road in Fayetteville, Arkansas against the Razorbacks at Bogle Park. The Razorbacks and Wildcats met in the SEC Tournament last season, with Arkansas winning 2-1. They did not play in the regular season. UK has swept Arkansas in the two team’s last two regular-season series (2016, 2017).
April opens at John Cropp Stadium against the Ole Miss Rebels from the fifth to the seventh. The Rebels and Wildcats did not meet in 2018. The last time UK played Ole Miss was in Oxford, and the Rebels took the Friday and Sunday games of a weekend series to win the three-game set.
The rivalry with LSU will be renewed on April 12-14 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on the Bayou. Kentucky has swept LSU in the team’s last two meetings (2016, 2018). In 2018, Kentucky won both games of the series with No. 8 LSU at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington. The last time UK went to LSU, the Wildcats pitching staff didn’t allow a run en route to a three-game sweep of the Tigers.
Senior Weekend will be held on Saturday, April 20 through Monday, April 22 as the SEC Network’s Series of the Week against Auburn is showcased on national television. Auburn swept Kentucky in 2018 on The Plains and currently holds the longest active winning streak against Kentucky at nine games. The last UK win over the Tigers was March 30, 2014.
The Wildcats conclude SEC play April 26-28 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama against the Crimson Tide. Alabama has won two of three in the team’s last two series, including 2016 when UK last made the trip to the Rhodes House.
The weekend of May 3-5 is the last weekend of SEC play, but that will be Kentucky’s bye week of conference action.
College Station, Texas and Texas A&M University will be the hosts of the 2019 SEC Tournament at newly-christened Davis Diamond from May 8-11 in the Lone Star State.
2019 Kentucky Softball SEC Schedule (2018 NCAA finish)
March 8-10 … at South Carolina (Super Regionals)
March 15-17 … vs. Mississippi State (Regionals)
March 22-24 … vs. Missouri (Regionals)
March 29-31 … at Arkansas (Super Regionals)
April 5-7 … vs. Ole Miss (Regionals)
April 12-14 … at LSU (Super Regionals)
April 20-22 … vs. Auburn (Regionals)
April 26-28 … at Alabama (Super Regionals)
May 3-5 … Bye week
For the latest on UK Softball, follow the Wildcats on Twitter and Instagram at @UKSoftball.
