WILMINGTON, North Carolina – UNCW Softball Head Coach Ashley Wade has unveiled a 50-game schedule for the 2023 season that features 24 Colonial Athletic Association contests for the defending league champions.
The Seahawks, 32-15 one year ago, will navigate through 28 home games at Boseman Field, 17 road battles and five neutral site contests. The 26-game non-conference slate features four NCAA Tournament opponents – Campbell, Duke, Illinois and Virginia Tech – from 2022.
“After advancing to the NCAA Tournament last year, the Seahawks are excited for a non-conference schedule that helps equip us for CAA play,” said Wade, who enters her first season as the Seahawk skipper. “Facing Illinois and South Carolina on the road and hosting Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Duke at Boseman Field prepare us to compete with the goal of contending for a CAA Championship and making another Regional appearance.
“We’re also really excited to add some home mid-week contests, allowing Seahawk fans a chance to see us in action at home during the week.”
The CAA title defense begins with the season opener vs. Purdue Fort Wayne on Feb. 10, the first of five games in the season-opening home homestand that will feature the Hokies and in-state rival East Carolina, one of nine in-state opponents on the 2023 docket.
The Seahawks travel to Greensboro, N.C. for a Feb. 18-19 weekend tournament at UNCG that includes a pair of games against the host Spartans along with two contests with Morehead State.
UNCW returns home to stage a second tournament in late February. Appalachian State, Eastern Kentucky and Georgetown will play a combined five games vs. the Seahawks from Feb. 24-26 and give UNCW 11 home contests in the season’s first 15 games.
A pair of doubleheaders hosted by South Carolina will take place in early March. The Seahawks will battle the Fighting Illini and Columbia (N.Y.) on Mar. 4 before concluding the two-day tournament with a non-conference match against North Carolina A&T and the host Gamecocks on Mar. 5.
CAA play opens with a three-game series vs. Towson from Mar. 11-12 before hosting North Carolina on Mar. 15.
Other conference home opponents include the new league-member Aggies (Mar. 25-26) and Hampton (Apr. 8-9). UNCW closes its home calendar with a three-game Senior Weekend series vs. Drexel (Apr. 29-30).
The Seahawks will travel to CAA opponents Delaware (Mar. 18-19), Stony Brook (Apr. 1-2) and Elon (Apr. 15-16). The regular season will conclude with a road series at Charleston (May 5-6).
UNCW welcomes the Blue Devils, who went 44-11 and reached the NCAA Super Regionals in 2022, to Wilmington for a doubleheader on Apr. 5. It will mark the inaugural meeting between the two schools.
Charlotte will visit the Port City for a Friday night doubleheader on Apr. 22.
The Seahawks will travel two hours north of Interstate-40 to play a twinbill at Big South Champion Campbell on Apr. 26. The two rivals have met 80 times and are poised to continue the rivalry with the Camels joining the CAA in the 2023-24 academic year.
The 2023 CAA Softball Championships will be held from May 9-13 at Hofstra’s Bill Edwards Stadium in Hempstead, N.Y. The league’s top eight teams will compete to secure the league’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament.
The NCAA Regionals will take place from May 18-20 with Super Regionals occurring from May 25-27.
The 2023 Women’s College World Series will be held once again at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla. from June 1-8/9.
2023 UNCW Softball Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Time | All-Time Series (Last Meeting) |
| UNCW Tournament | |||
| Feb. 10 | Purdue Fort Wayne | 7 p.m. | First Meeting |
| Feb. 11 | Virginia Tech | 3 p.m. | 0-2 (2011) |
| Feb. 11 | Purdue Fort Wayne | 5:30 p.m. | |
| Feb. 12 | Virginia Tech | 11:30 a.m. | |
| Feb. 12 | East Carolina | 2 p.m. | 22-75 (2022) |
| UNCG Tournament | |||
| Feb. 18 | at UNCG | 2:30 p.m. | 16-41 (2021) |
| Feb. 18 | vs. Morehead State | 5 p.m. | First Meeting |
| Feb. 19 | vs. Morehead State | 11 a.m. | |
| Feb. 19 | at UNCG | 4 p.m. | |
| UNCW Tournament #2 | |||
| Feb. 24 | Eastern Kentucky | 7 p.m. | 1-4 (2020) |
| Feb. 25 | Appalachian State | 3 p.m. | 8-6 (2021) |
| Feb. 25 | Eastern Kentucky | 5:30 p.m. | |
| Feb. 26 | Georgetown | 11:30 a.m. | 5-6 (2020) |
| Feb. 26 | Appalachian State | 2 p.m. | |
| South Carolina Tournament | |||
| Mar. 4 | vs. Illinois | 10 a.m. | First Meeting |
| Mar. 4 | vs. Columbia | 12:30 p.m. | 3-0 (2016) |
| Mar. 5 | vs. North Carolina A&T | 12:30 p.m. | 40-6-2 (2021) |
| Mar. 5 | at South Carolina | 3 p.m. | 0-7 (2016) |
| Mar. 11 | Towson* (DH) | 1 p.m./3 p.m. | 21-36 (2022) |
| Mar. 12 | Towson* | 1 p.m. | |
| Mar. 15 | North Carolina | 5 p.m. | 4-46 (2022) |
| Mar. 18 | at Delaware* (DH) | Noon/2:30 p.m. | 20-36 (2022) |
| Mar. 19 | at Delaware* | 1 p.m. | |
| Mar. 22 | East Carolina | 5 p.m. | |
| Mar. 25 | North Carolina A&T* (DH) | 1 p.m./3:30 p.m. | |
| Mar. 26 | North Carolina A&T* | 1 p.m. | |
| Apr. 1 | at Stony Brook* (DH) | 1 p.m./3:30 p.m. | 4-3 (2007) |
| Apr. 2 | at Stony Brook* | 1 p.m. | |
| Apr. 5 | Duke (DH) | 2 p.m./4:30 p.m. | First Meeting |
| Apr. 8 | Hampton* (DH) | 1 p.m./3:30 p.m. | 11-3 (2017) |
| Apr. 9 | Hampton* | 1 p.m. | |
| Apr. 15 | at Elon* (DH) | Noon/2:30 p.m. | 14-20 (2022) |
| Apr. 16 | at Elon* | 1 p.m. | |
| Apr. 21 | Charlotte (DH) | 4 p.m./6:30 p.m. | 3-17 (2018) |
| Apr. 26 | at Campbell (DH) | 4 p.m./6 p.m. | 27-53 (2021) |
| Apr. 29 | Drexel* (DH) | 1 p.m./3:30 p.m. | 26-25 (2022) |
| Apr. 30 | Drexel* | 1 p.m. | |
| May 5 | at Charleston* (DH) | 1 p.m./3:30 p.m. | 29-30 (2022) |
| May 6 | at Charleston* | Noon | |
| May 9-13 | CAA Tournament (Bill Edwards Stadium – Hempstead, N.Y.) | ||
| May 18-20 | NCAA Regionals | ||
| May 25-27 | NCAA Super Regionals | ||
| June 1-8/9 | Women’s College World Series (Oklahoma City, Okla.) | ||
* CAA Opponent
UNCW Softball Schedule By…
Home/Away/Neutral
Home – 28
Away – 17
Neutral – 5
Opponent’s State
North Carolina – 9 (Appalachian State, Campbell, Charlotte, Duke, East Carolina, Elon, North Carolina, North Carolina A&T, UNCG)
Delaware – 1 (Delaware)
Kentucky – 2 (Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State)
Indiana – 1 (Purdue Fort Wayne)
Illinois – 1 (Illinois)
Maryland – 1 (Towson)
New York – 2 (Stony Brook, Columbia)
Pennsylvania – 1 (Drexel)
South Carolina – 2 (Charleston, South Carolina)
Virginia – 2 (Hampton, Virginia Tech)
Washington, D.C. – 1 (Georgetown)
Time of Day
Morning – 4
Afternoon – 44
Evening – 2
Month
February – 14
March – 15
April – 18
May – 3
CAA/Non-Conference
CAA – 24
Non-Conference – 26
2022 NCAA Tournament Opponents (4)
Campbell
Duke
Illinois
Virginia Tech
First-Time Opponents (4)
Duke
Illinois
Morehead State
Purdue Fort Wayne
Last Season Opponents (7)
Charleston
Delaware
Drexel
East Carolina
Elon
North Carolina
Towson
