Penn State softball recently announced its full schedule for the 2022 season. The Nittany Lions are attempting to have a bounce-back season under second-year head coach Clarisa Crowell, who led the team to a 7-34 record last season.

The season will kick off with a Spring Games Tournament from February 11-13, located in Leesburg, Florida. This is where the Nittany Lions played some of their early conference games at the beginning of last season because of the cold weather in Happy Valley. The teams that Penn State will be playing in this tournament have yet to be announced.

The next week, Penn State will head down to Miami to take part in the FIU Tournament. The team will play Cleveland State, FIU, and Buffalo, as well as two other teams that have yet to be announced.

The Nittany Lions will then continue their non-conference tournament run with a stop in Atlanta for the I-75 Challenge. That weekend, they will play Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, and Georgia State.

They will follow that up with what could be their biggest test of the season in the UNC Tournament. While in Chapel Hill, they will play UNC, UCONN, and UNC Greensboro. But the biggest challenge will be Pac-12 powerhouse Oregon, which is their opening game. While in North Carolina, they’ll travel to Durham to take a shot at Duke.

After that, Penn State will go to Delaware and play two games against the Blue Hens, as well as a game against Canisius. It follows that series up with a midweek game against in-state rival Pitt.

Finally, the Nittany Lions will play their first home game on March 18, kicking off a series of games against non-conference opponents UMass-Lowell, Cornell, and Rider.

They will end non-conference play against Saint Francis in a Tuesday matchup, and start conference play that same Friday against Maryland. Conference play will run from March 25 to May 8, with the final home series being April 29-May 1 against Wisconsin. They will also play Purdue and Indiana at home during that stretch.

Penn State is full of seniors, such as star pitcher Bailey Parshall and veteran catcher Ally Kurland, that are trying to graduate with a winning season under their belt. The Nittany Lions have the experience, but it remains to be seen if they can put it all together under Crowell.