NATCHITOCHES -- For the first time since 2015, Northwestern State softball will host a ranked opponent and the Southland Conference Tournament.
 
NSU welcomes LSU on March 5 before rolling out the purple carpet for the league's tournament May 7-10 to highlight the 2019 schedule.
 
"We certainly hope we get a big crowd for a caliber of team like LSU and then the importance of the Southland Conference Tournament," said NSU coach Donald Pickett, who has qualified for five of the last six SLC Tournaments, winning two. "We've been down to Baton Rouge quite a few times, and we're excited that Beth Torino and her bunch are coming up here.
 
"It's good for LSU to get exposure in this part of the state, and we'll know they'll draw fans. But we hope to see a lot more Demons fans out to support us."
 
LSU is one seven NCAA Tournament teams on a challenging slate, including a Super Regional Arkansas squad.
 
NSU plays its fourth and final non-conference tournament at the Razorback Invitational (March 1-3), where the Lady Demons will face the Razorbacks and NCAA Tournament member Boston University. Nevada is one of three NSU opponents to play in the National Invitational Softball Championship, boosting the number of teams that played in national postseason events to 10 on NSU's schedule.
 
The Lady Demons face stiff competition from the start at the Texas Invitational (Feb. 8-10) when they play host Texas twice and NCAA Tournament member Boise State twice. ACC member Boston College plays the Lady Demons once.
 
The North Texas Mean Green Classic (Feb. 15-17) features games against Creighton, Seton Hall and host UNT.
 
The Lady Demons play the next seven games at home, including a doubleheader against Fairleigh Dickinson (Feb. 19) to open a 22-home schedule.
 
The Natchitoches Historic District Development Commission Lady Demon Classic makes its second straight appearance in Natchitoches, featuring NSU, St. Louis, Houston Baptist and Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Feb. 22-24.
 
"We're really excited about this tournament because we've spent the last two or three years trying to start this up again," Pickett said. "We're excited to host these teams, and we're excited to get a home weekend so we're not spending as much time on the road.
 
"We've got our work cut out for us in all of these tournaments because we're facing teams with different styles than we normally see."
NSU dives into an SLC slate that has five of nine series on the road, including three of the top four 2018 finishers.
 
The Lady Demons head to Sam Houston State (March 8-9) before a stretch of conference tournament champion McNeese (March 22-23), regular season champion Nicholls (April 5-6), Lamar (April 19-20) and SFA (April 26-27).
 
The conference home slate includes Abilene Christian (March 15-16), Southeastern (Match 29-30), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (April 12-13) and Central Arkansas.
 
Lamar and TAMU-CC are NSU's only conference opponents that didn't make the league tournament this past season, but the Cardinals are just two seasons removed from a deep NISC run and have former NSU assistant Amy Hooks at the helm.
 
"This conference is getting stronger every year, and the rotation worked out to where we play five on the road and four at home," Pickett said. "It'll be a challenge for our team, but we're ready.
 
"We'll need to build consistency over the year to prepare for the postseason."
 
NSU's midweek slate features home-and-homes with Louisiana Tech (March 20 and April 10), Grambling (March 26 and April 24) along with hosting NCAA Tournament member Prairie View A&M in an April 30 doubleheader.
 
 
2019 NSU SOFTBALL SCHEDULE
 
Date              Opponent                                                            Time
Feb. 8           Boise State!                                                         1:30 p.m.
                      at Texas!                                                             TBA
Feb. 9           Boise State!                                                        10 a.m.                                                                                   
                       Boston College!                                                  5 p.m.
Feb. 10         at Texas!                                                               TBA
Feb. 15         Creighton#                                                            1:30 p.m.
                       Seton Hall #                                                        4 p.m.
Feb. 16        Seton Hall #                                                           11 a.m.
Feb. 17        at North Texas#                                                      1:30 p.m.
Feb. 19       Fairleigh Dickinson (DH)                                       5 p.m.
Feb. 22       St. Louis%                                                              3 p.m.
                      Houston Baptist%                                               5:30 p.m.
Feb. 23       Houston Baptist%                                                 12:30 p.m.                              
                      Arkansas-Pine Bluff%                                         3 p.m.
Feb. 24       Arkansas-Pine Bluff%                                           12:30 p.m.
March 1       Boston^                                                                   10 a.m.
March 1       Nevada^                                                                  1:30 p.m.
March 2       Omaha                                                                     12:15 p.m.
March 2       at Arkansas^                                                             4:45 p.m.
March 3       Nevada^                                                                    9 a.m.
March 5      LSU                                                                           3:30 p.m.
March 8       at Sam Houston State*                                             6  p.m.
March 9       at Sam Houston State (DH)*                                    Noon
March 15   Abilene Christian (DH)*                                           4 p.m.
March 16   Abilene Christian*                                                    1 p.m.
March 20    Louisiana Tech                                                        6 p.m.
March 22     at McNeese*                                                             6 p.m.
March 23    at McNeese (DH)*                                                     Noon
March 26      at Grambling                                                            3 p.m.
March 29   Southeastern*                                                           5 p.m.
March 30   Southeastern (DH)*                                                  Noon
April 5          at Nicholls*                                                                5 p.m.
April 6          at Nicholls (DH)*                                                       Noon
April 10       at Louisiana Tech                                                       6 p.m.
April 12      Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (DH)*                            5 p.m.
April 13      Texas A&M-Corpus Christi*                                     1 p.m.
April 19       at Lamar*                                                                    TBA
April 20        at Lamar (DH)*                                                          TBA
April 24       Grambling                                                                 6 p.m.
April 26       at Stephen F. Austin*                                                  TBA
April 27       at Stephen F. Austin*                                                  TBA
April 30      Prairie View A&M (DH)                                             2 p.m.
May 3         Central Arkansas (DH)*                                            4 p.m.
May 4         Central Arkansas*                                                    Noon
May 7-10    SLC Tournament                                             Natchitoches
 
! - denotes Texas Invitational                               ^ - denotes Arkansas Razorback Invitational
# - denotes UNT Mean Green Classic                         * - denotes Southland Conference game
% - denotes NHDDC Lady Demon Classic