SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State head softball coach Ricci Woodard announce the 2019 spring schedule on Tuesday.

"We are excited to kick off season and end the season at home this year," Coach Woodard said. "We are looking forward to facing some different opponents as we travel for our tournaments."

The schedule will be a strong test as the Bobcats will square off with eight teams that made postseason appearances a season ago. The NCAA Regional teams include: Baylor, DePaul, Houston, Louisiana, New Mexico State, North Dakota State, South Florida and Texas.

Texas State hosts the 2019 Bobcat Classic to open the spring season. The tournament will include Abilene Christian, Colorado State, North Dakota State and UTSA. TXST will host archrival UTSA to leadoff the tournament. The first pitch of the season is slated to be thrown 6 p.m. on Feb. 7. The Bobcats will take on the NDSU Bison, fresh off a 34-19 season that culminated with a berth in the 2018 Tucson Regional, on Feb. 8 and 9.

New Mexico State, a participant in the 2018 Tempe Regional, will host the 2019 Troy Cox Classic from Feb. 15-17. The Bulls of USF, the third seed in the 2018 Gainesville Regional, will host a four-team tournament comprised of Georgia State and Virginia Tech on Feb. 22-24. Finally, Houston will host the final tournament of the non-conference slate for the Bobcats on March 1-3. The Cougars, who played in the 2018 Baton Rouge Regional, and Bobcats will meet twice in the tournament. TXST will also take on DePaul as part of the 2019 Houston Red & White Showcase. The Blue Demons finished 34-17 a season ago and earned a spot in the 2018 Fayetteville Regional.

In non-conference mid-week clashes, Texas State will host Baylor and Houston, while playing at Texas. The Bears ended the season ranked No. 16 after posting a 38-18 record. The game will be played on March 6 at Bobcat Softball Stadium. Houston will travel up to San Marcos on April 23 to participate in TXST's 2019 Teal Game. The Longhorns will play host to the Bobcats on April 3 a season removed from a bid to the 2019 Seattle Regional.

The Sun Belt Conference offers a tough slate of games for the Bobcats. Most notably, the Cats will open conference play with a three-game set with perennial power Louisiana from March 8-10. The middle game of the series will represent TXST's 2019 Gold Game. The Ragin' Cajuns ended last season in the 2018 Baton Rouge Regional final. In the week prior to the NCAA tournament, the Cajuns were unable to defend their Sun Belt crown, falling to the Bobcats in the conference finals.

Outside of Louisiana, TXST will host Georgia State, Appalachian State and Troy. The Cats will face South Alabama, ULM, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern and UTA on the road in conference play.

For the first time since 2015, Texas State will be hosts of the 2019 Sun Belt Conference Championship. The tournament will be played out from May 8-11. The 2019 NCAA Regional rounds will begin on May 17. Texas State will aim to garner an NCAA bid for the fourth-straight season and the 10th time in program history.

SEASON TICKETS AVAILABLE
With the start of softball season right around the corner, affordable season packages are now available! Please contact our ticket office at 512-245-2272 to renew your same seats as last season or to purchase season tickets for this exciting upcoming season. Online renewals and ticket orders can begin on txst.com/tickets on Dec. 11.  Please call us at 512-245-2272 or email us at gametickets@txstate.edu with any questions or purchase your tickets for the upcoming season.

For all things Texas State softball, be sure to follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.