OXFORD, Miss. Trips to Houston, Texas, Lafayette, La., and Palm Springs, Calif., for top-notch tournaments, the introduction of the Red and Blue Classic and an always-challenging Southeastern Conference slate highlight Ole Miss Softball’s 2007 schedule, announced by head coach Missy Dickerson on Monday.
Ole Miss opens the season with none other than the 2005 National Champion Michigan Wolverines on Feb. 9 at the Wilson Demarini Invitational in Houston, Texas. The Wolverines, who finished last season ranked 10th in the nation, are one of at least eight 2007 foes who ended the year ranked in the top 25, including Tennessee (3), Alabama (7), LSU (10), Georgia (13), Louisiana-Lafayette (16), Baylor (20) and Auburn (21). The Rebels could face even more of last year’s top teams in the prestigious Palm Springs Classic.
“We’re throwing our players into the fire early,” said Dickerson, who guided the Rebels to their first ever SEC Tournament berth a year ago. “Palm Springs is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the spring. Two years ago, 23 out of the 25 teams at Palm Springs went to the NCAA Tournament. It will be a good test for these kids early, and hopefully we can go out there and play with no fear and be competitive. I want to challenge our players this year, because it’s only going to make them better. We’re going to Louisiana-Lafayette’s tournament again, where we will see Baylor. We’re going to Houston’s tournament, where we’ll see some good teams there. This just adds to the toughness of our SEC schedule.”
After the Houston tournament, the Rebels will travel to Lafayette on Feb. 16-18. The Palm Springs trip follows on Feb. 22-25.
Ole Miss will debut its new Red and Blue Classic tourney on March 2-4 at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. Teams to participate include Alcorn State, Coastal Carolina, Kennesaw State, Southern Miss and Stephen F. Austin.
The Rebels kick off their conference schedule with a three-game home series against LSU on March 10-11, followed by a March 14 doubleheader against Tennessee also in Oxford.
Additional home SEC series include Florida (March 31-April 1), Arkansas (April 14-15) and Alabama (April 21-22). The Rebels will travel to Auburn (March 17-18), Kentucky (March 24-25), Mississippi State (April 6-7), Georgia (April 25) and South Carolina (May 5-6).
The softball team will follow in baseball’s tradition of playing a neutral game against the in-state Bulldogs in addition to the three-game series. Ole Miss will be this year’s host of the game in Ridgeland, Miss., on March 28 at 6:30 p.m.
The Rebels will also square off with several non-conference foes, including Mississippi Valley State (Feb. 27 in Itta Bena and April 11 in Oxford), Southeast Missouri State (March 21 in Oxford), Southern Miss (April 18 in Oxford) and Birmingham-Southern (May 2 in Birmingham).
The SEC Tournament is slated for May 10-12 and will be held in Auburn, Ala. The eight SEC teams with the best regular-season records advance to the Tournament.
