University of Louisville softball coach Holly Aprile has unveiled the Cardinals’ schedule for the upcoming 2024 season. The schedule includes 20 home games, with one tournament taking place at Ulmer Stadium, as the team celebrates its 25th season of softball.
The Cardinals’ 56-game slate will see them face off against five teams that were ranked in the final ESPN.com USA Softball or USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association top-25 last season. In addition, they will go up against nine NCAA tournament teams, including Women’s College World Series runner-up Florida State.
The team’s Atlantic Coast Conference schedule features home series against strong opponents such as Virginia Tech, Duke, Clemson, and Florida State, all of whom finished last season ranked in the top-25 nationally. Furthermore, the Cardinals will hit the road for games against Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and Boston College.
The Cardinals will kick off their season on February 9-10 in Ft. Myers, Fla., where they will participate in the FGCU Kickoff Classic and face off against LIU, Georgetown, and Florida Gulf Coast. Following that, they will travel to FIU for a midweek matchup before heading to Boca Raton, Fla., to take on Seton Hall, Maine, Michigan, and host FAU in the Joan Joyce Classic.
At the end of February, the Cardinals will travel to Conway, S.C., for the Battle at the Beach tournament, where they will compete against Furman, Bowling Green, and host Coastal Carolina.
After three consecutive weekends on the road, the Cardinals will finally return to Ulmer Stadium for their home opener on February 27 against Western Kentucky. In March, they will head back to Florida for the USF Tournament, featuring games against Villanova, Georgia Southern, Central Michigan, and host South Florida.
With 21 of their first 22 games being played away from home, the Cardinals will be eager to return to Ulmer Stadium for an eight-game home stand. This stretch will begin with a midweek game against Arizona, followed by a three-game ACC series against Virginia Tech. The following weekend, the team will host the 2024 Cardinal Classic, which will feature South Dakota, Illinois, and Michigan.
After a midweek matchup against Miami (Ohio), the Cardinals will once again play four consecutive games at Ulmer Stadium. They will face Duke in a weekend ACC series, concluding with a midweek contest against Indiana, a rematch of last year’s NCAA regional opponents.
March will come to an end with the Cardinals traveling to face ACC foe Pittsburgh. They will then journey to Northern Kentucky for a midweek game against another 2023 NCAA regional opponent. April will see Louisville face the national runner-up Florida State in a three-game conference matchup, followed by a midweek game against in-state rival Kentucky.
The Cardinals will hit the road once again for four consecutive games, starting with a midweek trip to Eastern Kentucky and ending the weekend at North Carolina.
In their final regular season home weekend, the Cardinals will honor their senior class when Clemson visits Ulmer Stadium from April 26-28. Finally, Louisville will conclude the regular season with a game against Boston College.
The 2024 ACC Softball Championship will take place from May 8-11 in Durham, N.C., with Duke serving as the host.
Fans can keep up with the latest news on Louisville Softball by visiting GoCards.com and following the team’s Twitter account, @LouisvilleSB, as well as their Facebook page, facebook.com/LouisvilleSB.
