Nov. 16, 2017
by Tony Jones
2018 Softball Schedule 
| 2018 Softball HTML Schedule
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The arrival of autumn weather in the state of Indiana marks the next step closer to the spring months of 2018. With the new year nearly in sight, the University of Notre Dame softball program has unveiled its 55-game slate for the 2018 regular season.
In total, Notre Dame will face 11 fellow foes that qualified for the 2017 NCAA Championship as part of its 30th varsity season schedule. Highlighting the upcoming Irish slate are 2017 Women’s College World Series participants Texas A&M (Feb. 22) and Washington (Feb. 23) in consecutive games at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, California. Notre Dame will also meet returning NCAA Super Regional qualifiers Auburn (Feb. 22) in Cathedral City and Florida State (Apr. 27-29) in the season’s final Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) home series in what figures to be one of the most anticipated sets in Melissa Cook Stadium history.
Other 2017 NCAA Regional entrants adorning the new Notre Dame schedule include Arizona State (Feb. 10) and Fresno State (Feb. 11) at the season-opening Kajikawa Classic (Tempe, Arizona), Michigan (Feb. 16-17) and Minnesota (Feb. 17-18) for the second straight year in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge (Tallahassee, Florida), Fordham (March 2) and FIU (March 3) as part of the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic (Kissimmee, Florida), and North Carolina (March 23-25) in an ACC series at Melissa Cook Stadium.
Notre Dame made its 19th straight appearance, earning its 22nd all-time selection, into the 2017 NCAA Championship, competing for the first time at the NCAA Auburn Regional. Notre Dame is one of just eight softball programs nationally to qualify for the national tournament in every season since 1999. The Irish were semifinalists for the third time in four seasons at last year’s ACC Championship in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
A total of 14 monogram winners return to the diamond for Notre Dame in 2018. All-ACC and all-region performers back for the new season include senior infielder Morgan Reed (2017 NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region First Team and All-ACC Second Team), junior outfielder Ali Wester (2017 NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region First Team and All-ACC First Team) and junior infielder Melissa Rochford (2017 NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region Second Team and All-ACC Second Team).
For the latest news and updates on all things Notre Dame softball, visit www.und.com/softball, follow the Irish @NDsoftball and @NDcoachGumpf on Twitter and at Instagram.com/notredamesoftball, and Like the team at Facebook.com/NDSoftball.
2018 Notre Dame Softball Schedule
KAJIKAWA CLASSIC
Tempe Sports Complex/Farrington Stadium – Tempe, Arizona
Feb. 9-11
Seattle – 2017 Record: 20-32
Saint Mary’s (Calif.) – 2017 Record: 17-31
South Dakota – 2017 Record: 22-32
Arizona State – 2017 Record: 31-22 / NCAA Regional Qualifier
Fresno State – 2017 Record: 35-23 / NCAA Regional Qualifier
ACC/BIG TEN CHALLENGE
JoAnne Graf Field – Tallahassee, Florida
Feb. 16-18
Michigan – 2017 Record: 43-13-1 / NCAA Regional Qualifier
Minnesota – 2017 Record: 56-5 / NCAA Regional Qualifier
MARY NUTTER COLLEGIATE CLASSIC
Big League Dreams Sports Complex – Cathedral City, California
Feb. 22-24
Auburn – 2017 Record: 49-12 / NCAA Super Regional Qualifier
Texas A&M – 2017 Record: 47-13 / NCAA Women’s College World Series Qualifier
Washington – 2017 Record: 50-14 / NCAA Women’s College World Series Qualifier
San Diego State – 2017 Record: 31-18
St. John’s – 2017 Record: 32-16
DIAMOND 9 CITRUS CLASSIC
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex – Kissimmee, Florida
March 2-4
UMass – 2017 Record: 29-24
Fordham – 2017 Record: 46-17 / NCAA Regional Qualifier
Binghamton – 2017 Record: 22-25
FIU – 2017 Record: 46-15 / NCAA Regional Qualifier
Robert Morris – 2017 Record: 19-33
at NC State (ACC)
Dail Softball Stadium – Raleigh, North Carolina
March 10-11
2017 Record: 18-38
at North Florida (DH)
UNF Softball Complex – Jacksonville, Florida
March 13
2017 Record: 31-27
at Jacksonville
Pruitt Softball Complex – Jacksonville, Florida
March 14
2017 Record: 30-25
at Louisville (ACC)
Ulmer Stadium – Louisville, Kentucky
March 16-18
2017 Record: 31-19
Western Michigan
Melissa Cook Stadium – Notre Dame, Indiana
March 21
2017 Record: 25-29
North Carolina (ACC)
Melissa Cook Stadium – Notre Dame, Indiana
March 23-25
2017 Record: 40-21 / NCAA Regional Qualifier
Eastern Michigan
Melissa Cook Stadium – Notre Dame, Indiana
March 27
2017 Record: 17-34
Purdue
Melissa Cook Stadium – Notre Dame, Indiana
March 28
2017 Record: 20-36
at Virginia Tech (ACC)
Tech Softball Park – Blacksburg, Virginia
March 30-31
2017 Record: 19-34
at Michigan State
Secchia Stadium – East Lansing, Michigan
April 3
2017 Record: 34-24
Syracuse (ACC)
Melissa Cook Stadium – Notre Dame, Indiana
April 6-8
2017 Record: 31-19
Detroit Mercy
Melissa Cook Stadium – Notre Dame, Indiana
April 10
2017 Record: 18-34
Loyola
Melissa Cook Stadium – Notre Dame, Indiana
April 11
2017 Record: 27-26
Duke (ACC, Strikeout Cancer Weekend)
Melissa Cook Stadium – Notre Dame, Indiana
April 14-15
2017 Record: Making varsity debut in 2018
Northwestern
Melissa Cook Stadium – Notre Dame, Indiana
April 18
2017 Record: 25-29
at Boston College
Shea Softball Field – Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
April 20-22
2017 Record: 31-22
Bowling Green
Melissa Cook Stadium – Notre Dame, Indiana
April 24
2017 Record: 24-32
IUPUI
Melissa Cook Stadium – Notre Dame, Indiana
April 25
2017 Record: 23-31
Florida State (ACC)
Melissa Cook Stadium – Notre Dame, Indiana
April 27-29
2017 Record: 55-8-1 / NCAA Super Regional Qualifier
ACC Softball Championship
Host: Georgia Tech
Mewborn Field – Atlanta, Georgia
May 10-12
Defending Champion: Florida State
NCAA Regionals (campus sites)
May 18-20
NCAA Super Regionals (campus sites)
May 25-27
NCAA Women’s College World Series
USA Hall of Fame Stadium – ODE Energy Field / Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
May 31-June 6
Defending Champion: Oklahoma
–ND–
Tony Jones, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2012 and coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame softball and men’s soccer programs. A native of Jamestown, New York, Jones is a 2011 graduate of St. Bonaventure University, and prior to arriving at Notre Dame held positions at the University of Louisiana Monroe and with the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills.