STATESBORO, Ga. --- Georgia Southern head softball coach Maggie Johnson has announced the release of the 2009 schedule.
  The slate features eight home series and the GSU Eagle Classic. The new season begins Feb. 13 against Troy.
  “Our schedule this year is tough, and it will only get tougher as we put ourselves up against the strongest teams on the East coast and throughout the country,” said Johnson. “Our conference has expanded this year with the addition of Samford, and we look to gain valuable experience through our weekend conference schedule on our way to the Southern Conference Championship.”
The SoCon expansion means an extra three-game series weekend and the start of the league season a week earlier than usual. The Eagles open on the road at the College of Charleston March 7-8.
Georgia Southern hosts Appalachian State (March 14-15), Samford (April 4-5), UNC Greensboro (April 18-19) and Furman (May 2-3) in the league and travel to Charleston, Western Carolina (March 21-22), Elon (April 10-11) and Chattanooga (April 25-26).
The non-conference home schedule includes Troy, Mercer (March 15), Jacksonville (March 3) and Charleston Southern (April 15).
The team will face two NCAA Tournament participants on the road when they travel to Georgia Tech (March 24) and Georgia (April 29), in addition to Florida A&M (Feb. 17), Georgia State (Feb. 25), North Florida (March 5), Mercer (March 12) and Presbyterian (March 17).
The Southern Conference Tournament will be held May 6-9 in Chattanooga, Tenn.