ABILENE - After a shortened campaign in 2020, ACU Softball and head coach
Abigail Farler are excited to announce their schedule for the 2021 season. The team will begin their season at home with an opening weekend tournament that will feature at least five teams in a full weekend of softball at Poly Wells field. The Wildcats will also make trips to Houston and Texas Tech for tournaments and will feature midweek matchups with Baylor and North Texas for just a few of the highlights of the season.
Tournaments
Feb. 12-14 | Abilene, Texas | Teams: Utah Valley, Tarleton, UTEP
The Wildcats will return to hosting a home tournament after playing all of their preseason tournaments on the road in 2020. ACU will welcome new DI member Tarleton, as well as UTEP and Utah Valley to Poly Wells Field for a three-day stretch of action. The Wildcats hold a 31-28 advantage in their series history with Tarleton, dating back to their time in the Lone Star Conference, and the teams last faced off in 2013. UTEP and Utah Valley will both be first-time meetings in the Wildcats program history. ACU hopes to add one or two more teams to the field and will announce further teams as they are finalized.
Feb. 19-21 | Arlington, Texas | Teams: UT Arlington (host), more TBA
ACU will see a familiar team early in the season as they head to a tournament hosted at UT Arlington. The Wildcats faced the Mavericks in the first weekend of action in 2020 with the teams splitting a pair of games. As the other participating teams are announced they will be added to the schedule.
Feb. 26-28 | Houston, Texas | Teams: Houston (host), Northwestern, Texas Southern
The Wildcats will stay in the state of Texas as they head to Houston for their third weekend of action. ACU will face Houston for the first time in program history over this weekend and will get a tough test against a team that won 39 games in 2019 and went 16-7 in the shortened 2020 season. Northwestern will be a familiar foe for ACU after the two teams met twice in Norman, Okla. last season. The two teams met when Northwestern was receiving votes in the coaches poll and they came away with two wins against ACU. Texas Southern rounds out the competition for the weekend and it will once again be a first-ever meeting for these programs.
March 5-7 | Lubbock, Texas | Teams: Texas Tech (host), UMKC
ACU will travel to Lubbock the first weekend of March for their last tournament of the season. The Red Raiders hold a 12-2 advantage in matchups with ACU and the teams last meeting came in 2018 when the teams played twice with the Wildcats pulling off the upset in the game in Abilene. UMKC was part of the last Wildcat Invite in 2019, where the WIldcats played the Roos once with UNKC coming away with the win.
Midweek matchups
Feb. 23 at North Texas
The Wildcats saw the Mean Green several times in the shortened 2020 and they will see them a couple of times again in 2021. The teams will first meet in Denton for a Tuesday evening single game.
March 10 at UTSA
The Wildcats will head to San Antonio for a Wednesday night matchup with the Roadrunners.
March 16 at Tarleton
ACU will see Tarleton for a midweek matchup as well when they travel to Stephenville for a Tuesday night game.
March 30 vs. North Texas
Just over a month after the teams meet in Denton, the Wildcats and Mean Green will play once again, this time in Abilene. The Tuesday night game is slated for 6 p.m.
April 6 at Baylor
The Wildcats will play at Baylor in early April as a late season non-conference matchup. The teams played in a single-game midweek last season in Waco, but the teams will run it back for a double header in 2021.
Southland Conference
March 12-13 at
Houston Baptist
March 19-20 vs.
Central Arkansas
March 26-27 at
Southeastern Louisiana
April 2-3 vs.
SFA
April 9-10 vs.
Sam Houston
April 16-17 at
McNeese
April 23-24 at
Nicholls
April 30-May 1 vs.
UIW
May 7-8 vs.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
ACU will start their 2021 conference schedule on the road at Houston Baptist, but will have five home series this year and only four series on the road. The Wildcats will host Central Arkansas, SFA, Sam Houston, UIW, and A&M-Corpus Christi in their five home series.
All Southland series' will be three games with a double header played on Friday and a single game on Saturday.
Be sure to check the Wildcats schedule at acusports.com for any updates or changes that may be made before or during the season.
