HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College softball team announced its 2014 schedule on Thursday.
The Fords, a Centennial Conference finalist in 2013, open the season at Rowan University on March 4. The doubleheader against the Profs, ranked 20th in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association preseason poll, will be an early-season test as Rowan went 41-9 a year ago and advanced to the finals of the NCAA regional tournament before falling to eventual national champion Tufts University.
Haverford's annual spring break trip features eight games beginning with contests against Salve Regina University and Simmons College on March 9. Salve Regina won 23 games last season before falling in the Commonwealth Coast championship game and Simmons also topped the 20-win mark on the way to qualifying for the Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament.
After a day off in the Florida sun, the Fords' schedule continues with nighttime matchups against Wheaton (Ill.) College and Wittenburg University on March 11. Both squads had winning records last season with Wittenburg falling by one run in the North Coast Athletic Conference championship game.
The final three days of the eight-game trip includes two opponents that hit the 20-win mark in 2013 in Milikin University and Farmingdale State College on March 12 and 14, respectively. Farmingdale won its third consecutive Skyline Conference title last spring.
Four straight home games await the Fords upon returning from Florida. Immaculata University, which matched its program record for wins last year, comes to Class of '95 Field on March 18 for a non-conference doubleheader.
After another non-conference twinbill against Arcadia University, Haverford hosts Penn State University-Berks on March 22. The Nittany Lions' record-breaking 2013 campaign saw Penn State set the school record for wins in a season (36) on the way to its first trip to the NCAA tournament.
Three days later the Fords will open the Centennial Conference season against defending conference champion Washington College in a rematch of last year's championship game.
The final month of the regular season begins with a trip to Muhlenberg College on April 1 in the second of four consecutive road dates. The Mules earned the top seed in last year's Centennial tournament while winning a school-record 31 games in 2013.
After taking on Gwynedd Mercy University on April 17 in Haverford's last non-conference doubleheader of the season, the Fords begin the final stretch of the conference slate with a matchup against 2012 conference champion McDaniel College on April 19.
The last week of regular-season play brings rival Swarthmore College to Class of '95 Field on April 22 before Haverford visits host Gettysburg four days later.