Oct. 2, 2012

TUCSON -

University of Arizona Wildcat Softball has announced its tentative 2013 schedule. Dates and times of the conference games may change due to Pac-12 Network programming. Additionally, opponents and times of non-conference tournaments may change due to tournament scheduling.

Arizona's 2013 slate includes five of the top six teams in the country in 2012, according to the final ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25: (2) Oklahoma, (3) California, (4) Arizona State, (5) Oregon and (6) LSU. Additionally, the Cats will take on six more top-25 opponents (Florida, Michigan, Texas, Washington, UCLA and Stanford) and five other teams that received votes in the final poll (Northwestern, San Diego State, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame and Oregon State).

The Wildcats' schedule includes 18 of the 64 teams in last year's NCAA Tournament including half of the teams to qualify for the Super Regional as well as half of the Women's College World Series field.

Hillenbrand Stadium will play host to 27 Arizona home games and to two non-conference tournaments. Feb. 15-17, Arizona will host the Hillenbrand Invitational. The Cats will welcome Drake, Nebraska, Purdue, Southern Utah and Utah State for a three-day, 15-game affair. Two weekends later, March 1-3, Hillenbrand will play host to the Wildcat Invitational. UC Riverside, Portland State and Boston University will partake in the three-day, 10-game event.

The Wildcats' will open the season at ASU's Kajikawa Classic in Tempe for the seventh consecutive season. Arizona has competed in the Kajikawa Classic, previously the ASU Invitational, Coca Cola Classic and Fiesta Bowl Classic, 25 times and has a 108-18 record all-time. The Cats will take on Northwestern, Bradley, Cal Poly, San Diego State and Florida.

Arizona returns to the Cathedral City Classic for the fourth consecutive season and seventh time overall. The Cats will take on Oklahoma, Long Beach State, Ohio State, Loyola Marymount and LSU. UA holds a 27-4 all-time record at the Cathedral City Classic.

UA wraps up the non-conference tournament schedule with a visit to the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, California. Arizona has competed in the Judi Garman, previously named the CSFU Pony Invitational, Pony-Louisville Slugger and Kia Klassic, every year since 1984. The Cats' all-time tournament record is 118-46. In 2013, Arizona will take on Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan and Texas.

Arizona hosts Boise State and Santa Barbara for non-conference series while travelling to New Mexico State for a doubleheader to conclude the non-conference slate.

The complete schedule is listed below.

For continued coverage of Arizona Wildcat Softball, visit ArizonaWildcats.com. Be sure to follow Arizona Softball on Twitter (@UA_Softball) and Facebook (ArizonaSoftball).

 

2013 TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

FEBRUARY

8          Northwestern!                               12:30 p.m.    

8          Bradley!                                       5:30 p.m.

9          Cal Poly!                                      9:00 a.m.

9          San Diego State!                          2:00 p.m.

10         Florida!                                        8:30 p.m.

15         Nebraska#                                   4:00 p.m.

15         Drake#                                         6:00 p.m.

16         Southern Utah#                           4:00 p.m.

16         Purdue#                                      6:00 p.m.

17         Utah State#                                  1:00 p.m.

21         Oklahoma$                                   3:30 p.m.

21         Long Beach State$                       6:00 p.m.

22         Ohio State$                                  6:00 p.m.

22         Loyola Marymount$                       8:30 p.m.

23         LSU$                                           5:00 p.m.

MARCH

1          UC Riverside~                             4:00 p.m.

1          Portland State~                           6:00 p.m.

2          Boston~                                      4:00 p.m.

2          Portland State~                           6:00 p.m.

3          Boston~                                      11:00 a.m.

8          Boise State                                  7:00 p.m.

9          Boise State                                  5:00 p.m.

9          Boise State                                  7:00 p.m.

14         Houston^                                      3:30 p.m.

15         Notre Dame^                                11:00 a.m.

15         Oklahoma^                                   3:30 p.m.

16         DePaul^                                       9:00 a.m.

17         Michigan^                                     9:00 a.m.

23         Washington*                               6:00 p.m.

24         Washington*                               2:00 p.m.

25         Washington*                               7:00 p.m.

28         @ Utah*                                       6:00 p.m.

29         @ Utah*                                       6:00 p.m.

30         @ Utah*                                       2:00 p.m.

APRIL

2          California*                                   4:00 p.m.

2          California*                                   6:00 p.m.

3          California*                                   12:00 p.m.

6          UC Santa Barbara                        6:00 p.m.

7          UC Santa Barbara                        12:00 p.m.

9          New Mexico State                        4:00 p.m.

9          New Mexico State                        6:00 p.m.

12         @ Oregon*                                   5:00 p.m.

13         @ Oregon*                                   2:00 p.m.

14         @ Oregon*                                   12:00 p.m.

19         UCLA*                                         7:00 p.m.

20         UCLA*                                         6:00 p.m.

21         UCLA*                                         12:00 p.m.

26         @ Oregon State*                          3:00 p.m.

27         @ Oregon State*                          3:00 p.m.

28         @ Oregon State*                          12:00 p.m.

MAY

3          Arizona State*                             7:00 p.m.

4          Arizona State*                             6:00 p.m.

5          Arizona State*                             12:00 p.m.

4          @ Stanford*                                 7:00 p.m.

5          @ Stanford*                                 7:00 p.m.

6          @ Stanford*                                 12:00 p.m.

18-19    NCAA Regional                            TBA

25-26    NCAA Super Regional                  TBA

30-31    Women's College World Series     TBA

JUNE

1-5        Women's College World Series     TBA

Home; Nuetral site; (NFCA Ranking); ! - Kajikawa Classic // Tempe, Ariz.; # - Hillenbrand Invitational // Tucson; ~ - Wildcat Invitational // Tucson; $ - Cathedral City Classic // Palm Springs, Calif.; ^ - Judi Garman Classic // Fullerton, Calif.; *Pac-12 Game

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