Tuesday, September 09, 2003

Johnson City, Tenn. (Sept. 9, 2003) -- East Tennessee State's softball team has released its schedule for the upcoming 2004 season. The Buccaneers, who finished 2003 with a runner-up finish at the Southern Conference Softball Championships and a 28-26 record overall, will open their 2004 campaign with a home doubleheader against Mars Hill on Feb. 13. "We are obviously excited about the upcoming season," said head coach Amy Fuller, "especially considering what we have to build off of from last year." The Bucs also travel to a few early-season tournaments before getting into the bulk of their conference season. ETSU has entered tournaments at UT-Martin, the Rebel Games in Kissimmee, Fla., Winthrop, and Virginia Tech. A trip to Knoxville is also part of the 2004 schedule, when the team meets Tennessee on Feb. 25. Southern Conference action gets underway on Mar. 27, when the Buccaneers go to Boone, N.C. to face Appalachian State. Conference newcomer Elon will be the first SoCon team to come to Johnson City, when the Phoenix arrive for a three-game series beginning April 3. Other home contests that appear on the 2004 schedule are games against non-conference opponents Radford and Tennessee Tech and SoCon foes College of Charleston and Furman. ETSU will also participate in this year's State Line Classic, a one-day event that will feature the Buccaneers along with Virginia Tech and Radford. The Classic will be played in Bristol on April 21, with game times still to be determined. The Buccaneers, who landed a total of four players on the 2003 All-Southern Conference first and second teams, return all but one player from the last year's roster and all nine starters. 2004 schedule