September 8, 2004

The 2005 Virginia Tech softball schedule has been released, as announced Tuesday by head coach Scot Thomas. Six tournaments, several tough opponents and Tech's inaugural Atlantic Coast Conference slate highlight the schedule. Now entering his 10^th year at the helm, Thomas welcomes back six starters, three pitchers and a talented group of newcomers.

The Hokies will open up their season in DeLand, Fla., at the Stetson Round Robin, taking on Iowa and Stetson. Following a doubleheader at perennial power South Carolina, Tech heads to Chattanooga, Tenn. for its second tournament. There, the Hokies will face James Madison, Miami University, UT-C and Western Kentucky. The other tournaments include College of Charleston, the Buzz Classic in Marietta, Ga., a second Stetson trip and the annual Hokie Fastpitch Club Classic, to be held March 18-20. This year's home event will feature East Tennessee State, Gardner-Webb, North Dakota State and St. Bonaventure.

The Hokies will take on Liberty and Radford in road doubleheaders and will host Appalachian State, Ohio, UNC Greensboro and Winthrop in home non-conference action. The Hokies will also play at Jacksonville University in a doubleheader and take on nationally ranked Tennessee in a single game at the State Line Classic in Bristol, Tenn., on April 13.

Tech's first-ever ACC contest will come on March 26 when it hosts Maryland in a doubleheader. Conference series in the new league have teams playing a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday to complete the three-game set. The Hokies will also host North Carolina State and Georgia Tech, while traveling to national power Florida State, North Carolina and Virginia. The conference tournament, in which all seven teams make, will be held May 12-15 at College Park, Md.

The preliminary schedule has the Hokies facing eight teams - Iowa, South Carolina, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Michigan State, Florida State, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia Tech - that made the NCAA Championship field. FSU made it to the Women's College World Series. The number of NCAA teams Tech faces could rise based on tournament play at the Buzz Classic.