Charlotte Softball Announces 2023 Schedule – Charlotte Athletics
Charlotte, N.C.- On Thursday the Charlotte 49ers softball program released its schedule for the 2023 season. This year’s schedule features many top-tier opponents for the Niners this upcoming season, as the team prepares to test themselves against some of the best teams in the country. This season’s schedule sees the Forty Niners take on 12 teams that played in the 2022 NCAA Softball tournament, including teams like Arizona State, Clemson, Duke, Virginia Tech, and Washington who all hosted regionals in last season’s tournament. Charlotte will host two non-conference tournaments at “The Sue” this year, the Charlotte Invitational (Feb. 9-12) and the Queen City Classic (Feb. 24-26). The 49ers will also host four Conference USA home series this season, welcoming FIU, Middle Tennessee, UAB, and UTEP to Charlotte.
“We are excited to get the season started with a challenging non-conference schedule”, said head coach Ashley Chastain. We will be taking on some of the most respected programs teams in the country in preparation as we move into our last season of Conference USA play. We look forward to hosting 28 games at home in front of the best fans in the country in Charlotte, NC while continuing to build on the success we have achieved as a program.”
A Series of Tournaments Starts the Season
The season begins on February 9th, as the Niners host the Charlotte Invitational. The Charlotte Invitational will feature South Carolina, Miami, Campbell, and East Tennessee State.
The Niners will then travel to Athens, GA for the Red & Black Showcase hosted by the Georgia Bulldogs (Feb. 17-19). At the Red & Black Showcase, the Niners will face St. John’s, Stanford, and the Bulldogs.
The Niners then head back to North Carolina for two midweek games. First, they will head on the road to face UNC Wilmington (Feb. 22), before heading home to host the Queen City Classic (Feb. 24-26) to close out the month of February. Traveling to Charlotte to compete in the Queen City Classic will be Penn State, Boston University, Kent State, and Georgia Tech.
After an off-week, Charlotte will travel to Arizona to compete in the ASU/GCU Classic (March 3-5). This is a dual hosted tournament by both Arizona State and Grand Canyon, and will include teams like Houston, Washington, and New Mexico. This should be a great early season test for the Niner, as they travel to the west coast to take on some of the best teams in the country.
Charlotte Gets Into Conference Play
The Niners head back home to face Duke (March 8), before kicking off C-USA play with a home contest with Florida International (March 10-12). This is followed by two midweek contests, home against Louisville (March 14) and at Clemson (March 15) before the Niners travel to Boca to face Florida Atlantic (March 17-19).
Charlotte has two mid-week games in between conference play as the travel to Virginia Tech (March 22) and host UNC Greensboro (March 29). Charlotte welcomes UTEP (March 24-26) and travels to face Western Kentucky (March 31-April 2) to end the month of March and start April.
Charlotte travels to Coastal Carolina (April 4) before a home series against Middle Tennessee (April 6-8). Charlotte then travels to North Texas (April 14-16) and then heads back home to face Longwood (April 19). Charlotte has a break in conference play, as they host Missouri (April 21-23) which is then followed by a trip to Chapel Hill to face North Carolina (April 26). The Niners then close out the month of April with a road series against Louisiana Tech (April 28-30).
The Forty Niners start the month of ay with a game against UNC Greensboro (May 2), before hosting their last C-USA series of the regular season against UAB (May 5-7). They will then travel to Ruston, LA. to compete in the C-USA Tournament May 10-13.
Gold Glove Membership
Charlotte softball fans can support the team directly by joining the Gold Glove Membership Program. All contributions go directly into the program for recruiting, team travel, uniforms, and equipment. For more information on Gold Glove Membership, Click Here.
Follow Charlotte Softball
Follow along with Charlotte softball all season by checking charlotte49ers.com. You can follow the team on social media on Twitter @CharlotteSB, and on Instagram @charlottesoftball.