BRONX, N.Y. – The holiday season is often a chance to celebrate and reflect on the year, and at the same time, also a time to look ahead at what to come in the one that lies ahead. As we look ahead to the flip of the calendar next week, Fordham University Softball Head Coach Melissa Inouye has announced a 55-game schedule for the Rams in 2024, the program's 40th varsity season.
With four tournaments on the docket to start the year, Fordham will open play with 21 games against 16 different opponents, including seven teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season. The early part of the year also sees the Rams play a doubleheader at Sacred Heart to close the first month of the campaign, and host Campbell in the home opener at Bahoshy Field on Mar. 6.
After a trip to Clemson as the fourth tournament of the season, the Rams will host four straight at home, beginning with a non-conference doubleheader against FDU, including the beginning of the Atlantic-10 side of the calendar. With 26 games as part of league action, the Rams will play an additional five non-conference games as the regular season heats up, before once again hosting the Atlantic-10 Conference Championship from May 8-11, 2024.
"Our team is very excited for the upcoming 2024 season as we have a full schedule with 55 games," said Coach Inouye. "We look forward to our four preseason trips which includes traveling to California and throughout the Southeast region. Our non-conference schedule will definitely prepare us for A-10 play, as we take on seven NCAA Regional participants from a year ago."
Facing teams from eight different conferences during non-league play, Fordham Softball kicks off the year Friday, Feb. 9 with the first of five games across three days in Jacksonville, Fla. Taking on Southern Miss and North Florida on day one, the Rams will play the Golden Eagles a second time, before taking on Jacksonville State later that day. The "River City Leadoff Tournament" of the season wraps up early that Sunday morning against Ball State.
After heading North to South, the Rams will go East-to-West with a trip to California for three days of games in the Golden State for the "Silicon Valley Classic". A pair of games in Santa Clara on Feb. 16 sees Fordham take on Nevada Reno and the host Broncos. The next two days will be spent in San Jose with a second game against Nevada Reno and one against San Jose State Saturday, before wrapping the weekend against Portland State.
Staying in the northeast the following weekend, Fordham will travel up to Fairfield, Conn. for a doubleheader at Sacred Heart on Feb. 24, the lone competition for the Rams that week. The following weekend, the Rams will open March in Charlotte, N.C. with four games at UNC Wilmington. The "Queen City Classic" will take on Minnesota and Kentucky on Mar. 1 before single games the two days after, playing the hosts, UNC Wilmington and a second game against Kentucky.
Returning home that Wednesday, Fordham will host their first game of the year at Bahoshy Field on Wednesday, Mar. 6 against Campbell, a single game ahead of the final tournament of the year. Heading to South Carolina this time around, the Rams will play Longwood and Mercer on Mar. 8 to kickoff the weekend, ahead of a single game against Minnesota for the second time in a week, the following day. Mar. 10 will see Fordham take on Longwood again, before closing the "Tiger Invitational" against the hosts, Clemson, which advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals in 2023.
Four consecutive home dates await the Rams when they return to Rose Hill, beginning with a non-conference doubleheader against Fairleigh Dickinson on Mar. 13. That weekend will see the start of Atlantic-10 play as Fordham hosts Rhode Island Mar. 16-17, before closing the homestand the following Wednesday with a single game against Iona.
Following the stretch of home games, the next six dates will be played away from home as the Rams head to UMass Mar. 23-24, before taking on Missouri in a midweek contest hosted at Hofstra that Tuesday. A second straight midweek conference series sees the Rams head down to George Mason on Easter Weekend, before returning to the Five Boroughs with a trip to Queens to take on St. John's.
A series with George Washington Apr. 6-7 marks the first of two consecutive weekends at home to open April, separated by a single game at Army on the 10th. Returning home for a weekend set with Dayton, Fordham will then host Saint Joseph's in the lone midweek conference date on the calendar, a doubleheader on Apr. 17.
From there it'll be back-to-back trips to Empire State opponents as the Rams head up to St. Bonaventure Apr. 20-21 before heading to Hofstra the following Wednesday, to officially close non-conference action. The Rams will then have just two weekends left in the regular season, hosting Saint Louis the final weekend of the month, before heading to Loyola-Chicago May 4-5.
"Overall, we had a productive fall with a lot of growth on and off the field, and we look forward to seeing Team 40 compete against a variety of teams from several top conferences across the nation," said Coach Inouye.
The 2024 Atlantic-10 Conference Championship is scheduled for May. 8-11 and will be hosted by Fordham at Bahoshy Field.
