EASTON, Pa. – Lafayette softball will undertake a challenging schedule in 2020, playing in tournaments in Virginia, Florida and North Carolina in February and early March before jumping into conference play in mid-March.
 
The Leopards and third-year head coach Caitlyn de la Haba will open the season Feb. 28-Mar. 1 at the Patriot Classic, hosted by George Mason. Lafayette will play the hosts on Friday, Feb. 28 and then will square off against Radford and George Mason on Saturday in a doubleheader. They close out the tournament one day later, playing Radford and Delaware.
 
A doubleheader at Penn on March 4 precedes Lafayette's second tournament, the Duke Invitational on March 6-8. Lafayette will play Kent State, Duke, Gardner Webb once and Fordham twice over three days in Durham, N.C.
 
March 11 will send the Leopards to de la Haba's alma mater for a single game vs. Villanova. The Leopards will then embark on their spring break trip March 13-17 to the welcoming sunshine of Clearwater, Florida for the Spring Games. Lafayette is slated to play Buffalo, Butler, Brown, Central Connecticut State, Quinnipiac and Eastern Illinois at the largest collegiate tournament in the country.
 
The Leopards open their home slate and Patriot League play on March 21-22 with a three-game series vs. Bucknell. They will play a doubleheader on Saturday followed by the finale on Sunday, starting at noon each day in the standard conference weekend format. A mid-week doubleheader at Delaware follows before Lafayette hosts the Colgate series (March 28-29) to close out the month.
 
A short trip to La Salle opens April followed by a conference series each weekend in April: at Boston U. on April 4-5, at Army on April 11-12, vs. Holy Cross on April 18-19 and Lehigh on April 25-26. The Saturday doubleheader vs. Holy Cross will serve as Senior Day and will also feature an alumni event.
 
Lafayette will play on consecutive days (April 29-30) vs. Drexel in Easton and Marist on the road to close out the regular season. The four-team Patriot League Tournament is slated for May 7-9 at the highest seed.