The Radford softball program announced its complete 2023 schedule on Thursday afternoon, setting up an exciting season which will feature four early-season tournaments, two midweek non-conference doubleheaders at home, nine Big South contests at home and the return of the Big South Tournament to Radford.
The season is set to begin on February 17 when the Highlanders begin their first regular season tournament down in Statesboro, Ga. in the Bash in the Boro. The regular season opener will feature back-to-back games that Friday against Bryant at 10 a.m. and Long Island at 12:30 p.m. The next day on February 18, Radford will face off against the hosts Georgia Southern and then Long Island once again. The tournament comes to a close on February 19 where the Highlanders face-off with Georgia Southern once again.
Radford’s home opener comes early on as the Highlanders are set to host ETSU for a doubleheader on Tuesday, February 21. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. that day. One week later, the Highlanders head to Greenville, N.C. to compete in a tournament hosted by East Carolina. Action begins on February 24 where Radford plays St. Francis (PA) and Bucknell. Radford plays those same two programs again on February 25 and will then finish off the weekend with a single game against East Carolina on February 26.
To split up the early season tournaments, Radford will have its first midweek match-up of the year when they travel to play ACC foe Virginia in a doubleheader on February 28. After that, it’s another trip within the Commonwealth as Radford competes in the loaded Liberty Invitational.
On March 4, Radford will face Iona and Liberty and then on March 5th the team will face-off with UConn and Iona once again.
The Highlanders final regular season tournament comes the next weekend in Harrisonburg, Va. at the James Madison Tournament. The Highlanders open up play that Friday, March 10, against Saint Joseph’s. The following day features back-to-back matches against Fairleigh Dickinson and Saint Joseph’s. To close out the weekend Radford faces Coppin State and James Madison on March 12.
On Wednesday, March 15, the Highlanders are finally back home. Radford will play host to a doubleheader against a Division I newcomer Queens (NC) with first pitch set for 4 p.m.
A week later Radford is back on the road again for six-straight road games. The road trip begins in Raleigh, N.C. as Radford faces another ACC opponent in N.C. State on March 22. After that, the team opens Big South competition with a visit to Winthrop for a three-game series on March 25-26. Capping off the road trip will be another midweek doubleheader, this time against Western Carolina on March 29.
As the calendar flips to April, Radford returns home to host Charleston Southern for a three-game series with a single game on March 31 and a doubleheader on April 1st. After a midweek doubleheader at ETSU on April 5, Radford faces Big South competition again with a weekend series at Presbyterian starting April 7.
Radford then hosts five straight games when the team plays UNC Greensboro for a doubleheader on April 12 and then hosts Big South foe USC Upstate the following weekend for three games. On April 18, a New River Showdown is set as Virginia Tech and Radford will meet for the first time since 2021.
To end the regular season, Radford will have three Big South series in the final crunch before the Big South tournament. On April 22 and 23 Radford plays at Campbell before returning home for their final home regular season series against Longwood on April 28th and 29th. The regular season comes to a close on the road when Radford plays at Gardner-Webb on May 5-6.
The 2023 Big South Tournament is set to be hosted in Radford as the top-four teams in the conference will come together to decide who earns the automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Action begins on May 11 at the Radford softball stadium with opponents, game times and tickets all to be determined.
