PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers softball has announced its 2021 schedule. Playing a 44-game Big Ten only slate, the Scarlet Knights will have two weekends of play at the Sleepy Hollow Softball Complex in Leesburg, Florida, as well as eight total campus contests – four home and four away.
 

B1G IN FLORIDA

The Scarlet Knights open the 2021 campaign in the Sunshine State with doubleheaders against Illinois (Feb. 26), Northwestern (Feb. 27) and Purdue (Feb. 28).
 
After a week off of competition, Rutgers returns to the Sleepy Hollow Softball Complex for a pair of three-game series with Minnesota and Indiana the weekend of March 11-13.
 

CAMPUS COMPETITION

Campus competition will consist of a four-game series with each school on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
 
Rutgers will get its first official game on the new turf at the Rutgers Softball Complex the weekend of April 2 hosting Nebraska and will also welcome Wisconsin the weekend of Apr. 16, Iowa the weekend of April 30 and Maryland on the weekend of May 7.
 
Road contents for the Scarlet Knights will be with Michigan State the weekend of Mar. 26, Penn State the weekend of Mar. 9, Ohio State on the weekend of Apr. 23 and the regular-season finale at Michigan the weekend of May 14.
 
There will be no Big Ten Tournament held this season.

All events at Rutgers Athletics venues will operate in accordance with current statewide restrictions on gatherings. As a result, softball games at this time will not be open to the public.  
 

ABOUT THE SCARLET KNIGHTS

The Scarlet Knights return 14 letterwinners and welcome eight newcomers, including seven freshmen.
 
Rutgers was eager to continue the momentum of its 2019 season when the 2020 campaign was cut short at 10-14 overall.
 
The Scarlet Knights were coming off its best season since 2015 in 2019 with 29 overall wins and 11 victories in Big Ten action. RU played in the National Invitational Softball Championship, its first nonconference postseason tournament appearance since 1996. During the 2019 campaign, Rutgers also the school record for home runs and earned its highest seed in the Big Ten Tournament since joining the league in 2015.
 
Two NFCA All-Region selections from 2019 are also back for the Scarlet Knights in fifth-year senior utility Anyssa Iliopoulos and junior catcher Katie Wingert. Both rank among the top ten in home runs "On The Banks".

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