2016 LIU Brooklyn Softball Schedule
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - LIU Brooklyn head softball coach Roy Kortmann released his team's 2016 schedule on Thursday. The Blackbirds, who will begin the season on Friday, Feb. 12 at the FIU Invitational in Miami, will once again face some of the top teams in the country - including 11 teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2015 - in a competitive non-conference slate that will prepare them for Northeast Conference play.
LIU will take on Illinois, St. John's, Valparaiso, Florida State and the host Golden Panthers at its first tournament on Feb. 12-14. The Red Storm are the defending BIG EAST champions after going 28-19 in 2015, while the Seminoles are coming off an impressive campaign in which they won the ACC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals.
The Blackbirds will return to the Sunshine State on Feb. 19-21 for the Florida Gulf Coast/Four Points by Sheraton Invitational in Fort Myers, Fla. The team will take on Southern Illinois, Saint Louis, FGCU and Marshall at the three-day event. The Thundering Herd, who LIU will take on twice, finished last year with a 35-15 record, while the Billikens closed with 36 victories, including an 18-5 mark in the Atlantic 10.
LIU Brooklyn's annual trip to California for one of the premier collegiate softball tournaments in the country will take place on Feb. 25-28, as the Blackbirds will take part in the Mary Nutter Classic. Georgia, who advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals last year, will be LIU's first opponent at the tournament on Feb. 25. The Blackbirds also face San Jose State, Long Beach State, Colorado State and California, who also made the NCAA Tournament a season ago.
LIU will participate in three more tournaments in Florida in the month of March, beginning with the UCF Invitational in Orlando. South Dakota, North Florida, Middle Tennessee, La Salle and the host Knights, who made the NCAA Tournament last season, make up the group of opponents from Mar. 4-6. The following weekend, the Blackbirds will trek to Boca Raton, Fla., for the FAU Parents Weekend Tournament. Rutgers, Mercer, UMass, and NCAA participants Minnesota and FAU comprise the field. The final tournament down south is the USF Tournament in Clearwater, Fla., with games against Northwestern (Mar. 18), Georgia Tech (Mar. 19) and Kent State (Mar. 20) highlighting the five-game event.
LIU Brooklyn returns north for another non-conference contest against Manhattan on Thursday, Mar. 24 in Riverdale, before opening its home schedule on the following Thursday against regional foe Hofstra at LIU Field. The Blackbirds begin NEC play with a doubleheader against Saint Francis U. on Saturday, Apr. 2 in downtown Brooklyn, before hitting the road to face defending NEC champion Central Connecticut the following day in New Britain.
Other highlights of the remaining schedule includes Alumni Day, scheduled for Saturday, April 16, with a doubleheader against Robert Morris set for 1:00 p.m. The Blackbirds conclude the regular season with another matchup with St. John's at LIU Field on May 4, before the Northeast Conference Tournament on May 12-14.
LIU Brooklyn has won 13 NEC titles, the most of any program in any sport in conference history, and has advanced to the championship round in 11 of the last 13 seasons.