First-year Fresno State softball coach Trisha Ford unveiled the Bulldogs’ schedule for the 2013 season on Monday.
Under a new coach and entering a new conference, Fresno State will kick off its inaugural year in the Mountain West Conference with a schedule that includes two home tournaments at Bulldog Diamond.
The Bulldogs begin their season on Feb. 8 when they host Texas-El Paso, UC Davis, UC Riverside, Southern Mississippi, Sacramento State and Cal State Northridge in the Fresno State Kick-Off.
The Bulldogs host Iowa State, Oregon, Oregon State, California and Saint Mary’s in the Fresno State Classic — their second tournament of the season — that runs from March 7-10.
Fresno State will have 23 home games and 23 away games this coming season.
The Bulldogs will have the luxury, however, of staying in California for the majority of the season. Fresno State will only play outside of state lines on two separate occasions — once on the weekend of April 5 when the team plays conference opponent UNLV, and two weeks later when Fresno State plays a Mountain West series with Colorado State in Fort Springs, Colo.
The Bulldogs begin conference play at home on March 28 in a three-game series against Nevada.
Last season, Fresno State finished with a 36-23 overall record that included a 12-6 Western Athletic Conference campaign. Fresno State concluded its season with an 8-3 loss to No. 2 Brigham Young in the WAC Tournament final.
Seven seniors were lost to graduation.