Eagles Reveal Slate of Games for Upcoming Year

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

WALESKA, Ga. – Head softball coach Jade Geuther announced today the 2020 schedule for her Eagles as they look to build off last year's 30-19 mark.

Reinhardt – who finished 18-8 inside the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) in 2019 – is excited about the opportunity to line up against some of the nation's best on the diamond in less than two months.

"Our schedule is full of teams who finished in the final poll last year (No. 4 Georgia Gwinnett, No. 7 Mobile, No. 14 Campbellsville, No. 18 Truett, No. 21 William Carey, No. 22 USCB, No. 23 Rio, (RV) Brenau and (RV) Tennessee Wesleyan," Geuther said. "Obviously, we have a challenging season in front of us; but the girls came in from the summer prepared, which allowed us to advance a little further than we typically do in the fall.

"The goal is always to be in the national tournament, but if we get there, we never just want to make an appearance; so, our hope is that our tough schedule prepares us for those games in May."

The newest slate of games begins on Saturday, Feb. 1 with a doubleheader trip to Middle Georgia State before heading to Georgia Gwinnett for tournament action with the Grizzlies and Rio Grande (Ohio) on Feb. 14-15.

The home opener at Ken White Softball field is the very next day on Sunday, Feb. 16 against West Virginia Tech beginning at 11 a.m. William Carey (Miss.) then comes to town two days later for an afternoon doubleheader at 1 p.m.

The Eagles continue play at home the weekend of Feb. 21-23 in the RU Invite, as they take on the likes of Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.), USC-Beaufort (S.C.), Martin Methodist (Tenn.), Campbellsville (Ky.) and Midway (Ky.).

Rounding out February is a drive to Columbus, Ga., for an appearance in the NFCA Classic where Reinhardt will take part in five games in three days before moving on to face Mobile (Ala.) on March 3.

AAC play gets underway in Waleska on March 6 against Point (Ga.) in the first of four-consecutive conference outings at home – and six out of the next seven doubleheaders – as a road swing to Columbia International (S.C.) on March 17 is the lone date outside of campus during that span.

Additionally, Saturday, March 21 is Fan Appreciation Day against Columbia (S.C.) beginning at Noon.

Six-straight AAC dates of road contests begin on Sunday, March 22 against Allen (S.C.), as Reinhardt will then travel to Bryan (Tenn.) (March 24), Montreat (N.C.) (March 27), Milligan (Tenn.) (March 28), Union (Ky.) (April 3) and Kentucky Christian (April 4).

The Eagles then come back home to wrap up conference play against the Golden Tigers of Brenau (Ga.) on April 9 before celebrating Senior Day in non-conference action against Trinity Baptist (Fla.) on Saturday, April 18.

It appears the pieces are in place to take on the challenging road ahead for the hometown squad. 

"We are pretty young on paper with just two seniors, but on the field, we are very experienced," Geuther said. "We return our starting outfield from the past two seasons with Emily Draper (LF), Alise Hooks (CF) and Megan Huss (RF). We added three transfers (Kyrstyn Fisher from Birmingham Southern (Ala.), Reagen Radke from Columbia (Mo.) and Olivia Jacobs from West Georgia) who will make big impacts on our season; and our freshmen are progressing at a level beyond my expectations."  

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