By Sara Biela — Executive Editor
From debuting a new field at South Campus to falling short in last year’s Mountain West race, San Jose State softball looks to come back stronger than ever in the 2019 season.
The Spartans will compete in six classics, three of them being in San Jose, before starting conference play in late March.
After a matchup with Southern Louisiana University on Thursday, the team will compete in the Lion Classic I for its first tournament of the season.
Mississippi State and Nicholls State are among the teams participating in the tourney. SJSU lost a close two-run game to MSU last year in Palm Springs.
It advanced to the NCAA tournament and was eliminated by No. 14 Arizona in the Tucson Regional title game.
The Spartans will face another tough opponent in Southland Conference’s Nicholls State. The Colonels finished first in the SLC at 40-15, but lost in the title game to McNeese University.
SJSU will then head to New Mexico for the Aggie Classic.
The tournament will feature the Texas State Bobcats and host New Mexico State Aggies — who both advanced to the NCAA tournament.
The Bobcats were eliminated by No. 3 UCLA in the Los Angeles Regional championship game, while the Aggies were knocked out by Long Beach State in the Tempe elimination bracket.
In this tournament and the Silicon Valley Classic I, the Spartans will see Big Sky’s University of Montana. The familiarity will come in handy for both squads in the San Jose contest.
In addition to UM, SJSU will face University of Northern Colorado and Mid-American Conference’s Ball State University.
UNC finished .500 at 28-28 in the Big Sky, while BSU ended with 37-19 record and fell short of competing in the MAC championship.
The Spartans will stay in California and head to San Diego for its fourth tournament of the campaign.
Brigham Young University and Long Beach State will highlight the San Diego Classic. BYU finished the West Coast Conference at 36-22 and qualified for the NCAA tournament.
It was eventually eliminated by Drake University in the Eugene Regional.
This won’t be the first time the two teams have faced off. BYU holds an 8-3 advantage, with SJSU’s last win dating back to 2015.
The same situation applies to LBSU. In their last meeting in March, the Spartans upset then No. 21 Beach 7-3.
The Big West powerhouse went on to the NCAA tournament, but fell to Ole Miss in the Tempe Regional.
SJSU will return home for the Silicon Valley Classic II.
Among three Big West programs, the team will face Cal State Fullerton once again. In last season’s meeting, the Spartans earned a commanding 15-6 victory.
The Titans ended up moving on to the NCAA tournament and being one of two teams to force a Game 7 in the Regionals round. However, their season ended against No. 3 UCLA in the title game.
A familiar opponent from the San Diego Classic will be Weber State. The Wildcats finished 28-26 in the Big Sky.
In mid-March, SJSU will host the Spartan Invitational. Excluding the Spartans, this tournament will only feature three other teams: University of Massachusetts, Iona College and Pacific.
UMass finished a perfect 21-0 in the Atlantic 10 but fell in the championship game to Fordham University.
A lot of difficult opponents await San Jose State in the next two months, but the matchups will serve as good practice when the team heads into conference play.
Follow Sara on Twitter @sarabielaa
