ST. LOUIS – The 2020 Saint Louis University softball team will face a demanding schedule that includes seven participants in last season's NCAA Championship and four additional teams that finished among the top 100 in the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI).
 
Click on the 2020 Schedule link to the right to view the complete schedule.
 
"We look forward to our spring season and the challenging schedule it presents," head coach Christy Connoyer said. "Our out-of-conference schedule demands preparation, both physical and mental, as our opponents will definitely test us. Playing a strong nonconference schedule will help us as we prepare for the rigors of the Atlantic 10 Conference season.
 
"Overall, our goal is to grow and improve each weekend to better understand what it takes to compete for a conference championship at the end," Connoyer said. "Each opponent provides us that opportunity, and we anticipate getting stronger and building momentum each weekend."
 
Saint Louis opens the season Friday, Feb. 7, at Southern Mississippi's Golden Eagles Classic. The Billikens take on Purdue Fort Wayne in a doubleheader Thursday, March 12, in their home debut, which also is the opening day of the second annual Billiken Spring Tournament.
 
Connoyer's team will play 19 home games, including 12 against A-10 opponents and six in the Billiken Spring Tournament. In addition, Saint Louis hosts the A-10 Championship.
 
NCAA qualifier Fordham, which captured a seventh straight A-10 Championship title and claimed the league's regular-season crown a year ago, headlines a group of four conference rivals the Billikens host in three-game series. League opponents St. Bonaventure, George Washington and Saint Joseph's also visit the Billiken Sports Center. SLU faces A-10 foes George Mason, Rhode Island, Dayton and Massachusetts on the road.
 
Among the teams in the Billiken Spring Tournament are 2019 NCAA qualifier Lipscomb (No. 36 RPI), the defending Atlantic Sun Conference champion, and Illinois-Chicago, the 2019 Horizon League regular-season winner. Ohio Valley Conference champion and NCAA tourney team Southeast Missouri State (No. 56 RPI) comes to town for the regular-season home finale.
 
Other 2019 NCAA Championship qualifiers on the docket are Missouri (No. 28 RPI), Southern Illinois (No. 46 RPI), Chattanooga (No. 98 RPI) and Saint Francis. Chattanooga and Saint Francis were champions of the Southern Conference and Northeast Conference, respectively.
 
SLU's nonconference slate also includes 2019 RPI top-100 opponents UNLV (No. 44), Wichita State (No. 58), Texas State (No. 72) and Miami of Ohio (No. 80).
 
The six-team, double-elimination A-10 Championship comes to Midtown Wednesday-Saturday, May 6-9. The tournament winner receives the league's automatic NCAA Championship bid.