411OnTheForty: Softball schedule includes 7 teams on preseason top 25
AUSTIN, Texas — Just 11 days prior to the season opener, the No. 9 Texas softball team announced its 2021 schedule, which features seven opponents ranked in the top 25 by D1Softball.
Texas will begin its season in Austin, hosting the Texas Classic Feb. 11-14. No. 4 Arizona will be the Horns' first opponent, followed by two duels Feb. 12 and 13 with No. 8 Alabama.
Two weeks later, the Horns will return home after a weekend road trip to Frisco for the Tracey Beard Invitational, and play four different opponents, including No. 15 Mississippi State at the Lone Star State Invitational.
The grueling non-conference slate continues, as Texas will travel out of state for a two-game set March 5-6 in Baton Rouge, La., against No. 5 LSU.
Another notable non-conference date will come March 17, when Texas travels to face No. 7 Louisiana in a doubleheader.
Kicking off the Big 12 slate will be a three-game set April 1-3 against Texas Tech. The most critical UT series this season will come in Norman, Okla., from April 16-18, when the Longhorns face Oklahoma, which starts the season ranked No. 2, in a series that could significantly impact the Big 12 regular season title. The conference schedule will conclude with three games March 7-9 against now-No. 19 Baylor; Baylor will travel to Austin Friday, before Texas heads to Waco for the final two games Saturday and Sunday.
