BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Following a successful fall campaign with several new faces on the roster, WKU Softball head coach Amy Tudor and her staff have announced the upcoming 2018 spring slate. Looking to build on last year's postseason experience, the Red and White will take on five squads that appeared in the NCAA Tournament a year ago and will host 28 contests at the WKU Softball Complex this spring.
Â
"I am excited to announce our 2018 schedule which poses some new challenges and opportunities for this year's squad," Tudor shared of the 54-game regular season slate. "Much like last year, we are very young. Being able to go play in several highly-competitive environments will test us and prepare us for future development and adjustments."
Â
The 2018 season will commence with a trip east to Boiling Springs, N.C., for the Gardner-Webb hosted season-opening tournament. Play will begin Friday, Feb. 9, against Hampton followed by the host Runnin' Bulldogs. Youngstown State will fill out the four-team field and will be the Hilltoppers' first opponent on Saturday. Last season, Hampton took home the MEAC's regular-season title.
Â
| Opponent | Date | Time | Conference |
| Hampton | Friday, Feb. 9 | 11 a.m. CT | MEAC |
| Gardner-Webb | Friday, Feb. 9 | 3 p.m. CT | Big South |
| Youngstown State | Saturday, Feb. 10 | 9 a.m. CT | Horizon |
| Hampton | Saturday, Feb. 10 | 11 a.m. CT | MEAC |
| Hampton | Sunday, Feb. 11 | 9 a.m. CT | MEAC |
For the second weekend of the campaign, Tudor and company will head to Chattanooga, Tenn., for the Chattanooga Challenge. Joining the Hilltoppers and Mocs will be Tennessee Tech, Tennessee State, Alabama A&M and Indiana State. Both Alabama A&M and Indiana State remain on the schedule from the 2017 campaign. The Hilltoppers won both tilts with shutouts in each.
Â
| Opponent | Date | Time | Conference |
| Tennessee Tech | Friday, Feb. 16 | 10 a.m. CT | OVC |
| Chattanooga | Friday, Feb. 16 | 12:30 p.m. CT | SoCon |
| Tennessee State | Saturday, Feb. 17 | 10 a.m. CT | OVC |
| Alabama A&M | Saturday, Feb. 17 | 12:30 p.m. CT | SWAC |
| Indiana State | Sunday, Feb. 18 | 9 a.m. CT | MVC |
A week later, WKU Softball will play its first home tilts of the year with 11 games in a row at the WKU Softball Complex slated for Feb. 23 – March 7. Hosting its first tournament of the season, the Hilltoppers will welcome Green Bay, Toledo and Indiana State to The Hill for five games each in the Hilltopper Classic. First pitch of the weekend is slated for 3 p.m. CT, against the Phoenix before WKU will turn around and play Toledo on Friday evening. The second round against Indiana State is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on Saturday while the two remaining contests will be determined based on results.
Â
| Opponent | Date | Time | Conference |
| Green Bay | Friday, Feb. 23 | 3 p.m. CT | Horizon |
| Toledo | Friday, Feb. 23 | 5:30 p.m. CT | MAC |
| Indiana State | Saturday, Feb. 24 | 12:30 p.m. CT | MVC |
| TBD (1 vs. 4 & 2 vs. 3) | Saturday, Feb. 24 | 3 or 5:30 p.m. CT | |
| TBD | Sunday, Feb. 25 | 11 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. CT |
Up next, WKU will welcome Austin Peay, Dayton and Evansville to The Hill for the Hilltopper Spring Fling during the first weekend of March. The tournament schedule will follow the same slate as the previous weekend's outing with WKU playing twinbills on Friday and Saturday and results determining seeding for the final two tilts.
Â
| Opponent | Date | Time | Conference |
| Austin Peay | Friday, March 2 | 3 p.m. CT | OVC |
| Dayton | Friday, March 2 | 5:30 p.m. CT | Atlantic 10 |
| Evansville | Saturday, March 3 | 12:30 p.m. CT | MVC |
| TBD | Saturday, March 3 | 3 or 5:30 p.m. CT | |
| TBD | Sunday, March 4 | 11 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. CT |
Of the 13 different teams the Hilltoppers will face through their first 20 games in 2018, WKU will face squads from nine different conferences.
Â
In its 11th contest of the 11-game homestand, WKU will host SIU-Edwardsville out of the Ohio Valley Conference. After a successful 41-13 campaign a year ago, SIUE graduated six seniors.
Â
Already into the fifth week of the season, WKU Softball will head out for a spring break trip that will also double as its Conference USA opener. On March 10, the Hilltoppers will play two against Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, Miss., before closing the series on Sunday. Two days later on Tuesday, WKU will face its biggest test yet as the squad makes a stop at LSU. The Tigers are coming off of a World Series appearance and a season that saw them ranked every week while putting together a 48-22 campaign. Spring break play will close on Wednesday at former Sun Belt Conference-foe South Alabama. WKU will return home to close spring break action with its C-USA home opening series against Middle Tennessee on March 17-18.
Â
The following week, the Hilltoppers will have a break from league action with a pair of non-conference tilts against Jacksonville State (March 22) before heading up to Indiana (March 27) to take on former Marshall coach Shonda Stanton and her new Hoosier squad. Both Jacksonville State and Coach Stanton's squad from last year appeared in the NCAA Tournament.
Â
Remaining in the non-conference column for April and May are contests at Murray State (April 4), against Eastern Kentucky (April 11), against Kentucky (April 18) and against Lipscomb (May 3). Kentucky and Lipscomb are two more squads that appeared in last year's NCAA Tournament.
Â
| Remaining Non-Conference Games | |||
| Opponent | Date | Time (CT) | Location |
| SIU-Edwardsville | Wednesday, March 7 | 5 p.m. | Bowling Green, Ky. |
| LSU | Tuesday, March 13 | 6 p.m. | Baton Rouge, La. |
| South Alabama | Wednesday, March 14 | 4 p.m. | Mobile, Ala. |
| Jacksonville State | Thursday, March 22 | 3 p.m. | Bowling Green, Ky. |
| Indiana | Tuesday, March 27 | 3 p.m.    | Bloomington, Ind. |
| Murray State | Wednesday, April 4 | 5 p.m. | Murray, Ky. |
| Eastern Kentucky (DH) | Wednesday, April 11 | 3 & 5 p.m. | Bowling Green, Ky. |
| Kentucky | Wednesday, April 18 | 6 p.m. | Bowling Green, Ky. |
| Lipscomb | Thursday, May 3 | 6 p.m. | Bowling Green, Ky. |
WKU's remaining conference slate includes trips to Charlotte, UAB and Florida Atlantic while the Hilltoppers will also host UTEP, Marshall and FIU on the year – a flip of last season's schedule. The Thundering Herd and Golden Panthers were two of Conference USA's three participants in the 2017 NCAA Tournament with Louisiana Tech also earning a bid.
Â
| Conference USA Series | |||
| Opponent | Date | Time (CT) | Location |
| Southern Miss | Sat.-Sun., March 10-11 | 1 p.m. & 3 p.m. / Noon | Hattiesburg, Miss. |
| Middle Tennessee | Sat.-Sun., March 17-18 | 1 p.m. & 3 p.m. / Noon | Bowling Green, Ky. |
| Charlotte | Fri.-Sat., March 30-31 | Noon & 2 p.m. / 11 a.m. | Charlotte, N.C. |
| UTEP | Sat.-Sun., April 7-8 | 1 p.m. & 3 p.m. / Noon | Bowling Green, Ky. |
| UAB | Sat.-Sun., April 14-15 | 1 p.m. & 3 p.m. / 1 p.m. | Birmingham, Ala. |
| Marshall | Sat.-Sun., April 21-22 | 1 p.m. & 3 p.m. / Noon | Bowling Green, Ky. |
| Florida Atlantic | Sat.-Sun., April 28-29 | 3 p.m. & 5 p.m. / Noon | Boca Raton, Fla. |
| FIU | Sat.-Sun., May 5-6 | 1 p.m. & 3 p.m. / Noon | Bowling Green, Ky. |
The 2018 Conference USA Tournament will be hosted by Charlotte this season as the Hilltoppers will have their sights set on making three trips to the state of North Carolina this season.
Â
In total, WKU will face squads from 14 different conferences in 2018. For the sixth-straight season, the Hilltoppers have multiple SEC squads on the schedule. WKU has faced at least one team out of the SEC every season since the program's inception in 2000.
Â
Five squads on the Hilltoppers' 2018 slate won 40-plus games last year including SIU Edwardsville, LSU, Jacksonville State, Marshall and FIU. In total, 11 opponents won 30 or more contests last season while 15 had winning records.
Â
