SOFTBALL FINALIZES AMBITIOUS 2016 SCHEDULE

PETERSBURG, Va., (Jan. 5, 2016) – With the finalization of six games in Florida, the defending Region X Conference regular season champion Richard Bland College softball team has completed its challenging 2016 schedule, one that begins on Jan. 29 at the JUCO Kickoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida.

The Statesmen will play 39 regular season contests, highlighted by the JUCO Kickoff Classic, where Richard Bland will play five of its six games against Division I programs. Those contests begin on Jan. 29 and run through Jan. 31. The southern trip includes games against Division I opponents Northwest Florida State College, State College of Florida, Hillsborough Community College, St. Johns River State College, College of Central Florida and Chipola College.

In playing an ambitious schedule in 2016, Richard Bland will also host JUCO Division III Herkimer (N.Y.) College on March 19, a storied program that was a national finalist in 2014 and 2015 and captured the national championship in 2013. Last season, the Generals finished 43-2.

"Our 2016 schedule is set up for success down the stretch heading into the Region X Conference Tournament," said third-year head coach Martha Covington. "It's a balanced schedule that has a lot of national caliber teams and traditional rivals that will provide a great challenge to our team this season."

Richard Bland, which has won back-to-back regular season Region X Conference titles in 2014 and 2015, will have three weeks off upon returning back from Florida. The Statesmen begin their 2016 season in earnest on Feb. 20 with a double header at Florence-Darlington Technical College, an opponent that Covington identifies as a chief rival.

The schedule is dotted with 20 games versus Region X opponents (Florence-Darlington, Patrick Henry, Southeastern Community College-Whiteville, Surry Community College, Wake Tech), with the four games against each team split between home and away. The contests against Surry are particularly important, as the Knights defeated the Statesmen 3-2 in last year's Region X Conference Tournament final. "Surry is the team to beat," Covington confirms.

Richard Bland plays the first of its 14 home games on March 4 against Pitt Community College and then hosts the RBC Softball Invitational at the Dinwiddie Sports Complex on March 5-6. At that event, the Statesmen will face nationally recognized Cuyahoga Community College.

The Region X Conference playoffs begin on May 5 at Burlington, NC.

The complete 2016 Richard Bland College softball schedule can be found at this link.