Bobcats release schedule for 2021 softball season

Texas State Softball released its schedule on Tuesday which features 47 regular season games, including 28 at home and eight again Power 5 opponents.

“We are pretty excited about the season we’ve put together considering all the factors this year,” head coach Ricci Woodard said in a statement. “We are really looking forward to all our home games this year. We feel like it’s going to be a very good, competitive schedule for our home fan base this year.”

The Bobcats begin the season with a two-game home series against Texas Tech, which received seven points in the 2021 Preseason USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Coaches Poll, on Feb. 13 and 14. They’ll then head to Arlington for the Maverick Classic, for a pair of doubleheaders. The team will face off against Abilene Christiana and Wichita State on Feb. 20, then No. 18 Arkansas and the Shockers again on Feb. 21.

Texas State will join Baylor and Texas in co-hosting a round-robin tournament, taking on Lamar and Uconn on Feb. 26, No. 20 Mississippi State on Feb. 27 and Ole Miss on Feb. 28 inside Bobcat Softball Complex.

The next week the maroon and gold play Houston in a three-day home series from March 5-7. Texas State will then play Sam Houston at home on March 10 and host UTSA for games on March 12 and 13 before embarking on a seven-game road stretch.

The Bobcats begin Sun Belt play at Georgia State, matching up on March 16 and 17. They’ll then head to Boone, North Carolina, for a three-game series with Appalachian State from March 19-21 and conclude the road stretch with a trip to No. 6 Texas on March 24.

Texas State will host Tarleton on March 30, then return to Sun Belt competition with home games against Coastal Carolina on April 1 and 2. The team will take on SEC challenger Texas A&M inside Bobcat Softball Stadium on April 6 and host South Alabama for a two-game series on April 10-11.

The team returns to the road for meeting with No. 22 Baylor on April 14 before heading to No. 9 Louisiana, the 2019 Sun Belt champion, for a three-game series from April 16-18. The Bobcats host Georgia Southern for games on April 24 and 25 and play in their final non-conference game of the season on April 28 against Houston Baptist.

Texas State concludes its schedules with a three-game series at Troy from April 30 through May 2 and another at home against UT-Arlington from May 6-8. The 2021 Sun Belt tournament will take place in Troy, Alabama from May 12-15.

The Bobcats went 15-9 in 2020 before the Sun Belt suspended play due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The team lost six players in the offseason, including two seniors — infielder Bailee Carter and outfielder Christiana McDowell — but brought back 16 returners and added seven newcomers to the roster for the upcoming year.