A season after winning each series against Big South opponents on the way to capturing the 2015 Big South Regular Season and Tournament Championship, the Longwood softball team will look to duplicate that success against Big South opponents throughout the 2016 schedule announced Monday by head coach Kathy Riley.

In conference, the Lancers are scheduled to play eight series, including 24 games, featuring four home series to go along with four series on the road. At home, Longwood will face Campbell, Liberty, Radford and Winthrop, while traveling to Charleston Southern, Presbyterian, Gardner-Webb and Coastal Carolina.

“The conference will be wide open this year with Coastal Carolina, Charleston Southern, and Liberty all adding talent to their rosters,” said Longwood head coach Kathy Riley.

“We head back to Winthrop for the Conference Tournament this spring and it will bring back great memories as the site of our first Big South Championship. We expect each and every series to be battle as we defend our league and championship titles against hungry rivals.”

The Lancers open the Big South portion of its schedule at Lancer Field, as the squad hosts Campbell (March 20-21).

Three of the squad’s first four series inside the Big South are scheduled to be played at home, including Winthrop (April 1-2) and Liberty (April 5-6).

Longwood will face Charleston Southern (March 25-26) on the road to mark its first road series in conference play.

That game will be a rematch of Longwood’s thrilling extra inning walk-off victory in the quarterfinals of last season’s Big South Tournament.

Following the Winthrop and Liberty series, the Lancers will play its next two Big South series on the road.

The squad travels to Gardner-Webb (April 16-17), before facing Presbyterian (April 23-24) a week later.

The Lancers conclude their home slate against in-state foe Radford (April 29-30).

That series will mark the final three games for seniors Carly Adams, Jamie Barbour and Emily Murphy in their illustrious Longwood careers.

Longwood concludes the regular season on the road at Coastal Carolina (May 7-8).

The Lancers took two of three games last season to take a series against the Chanticleers for the first time in program history.

The Lancers will return to the site of their 2013 Big South Championship May 11-14, as the Big South Championship will be held at Winthrop in Rock Hill, S.C. 

Outside the Big South, Longwood will face a challenging non-conference slate during the 2016 season that includes 18 games against a total of 11 teams that qualified for the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

A trip to Auburn and LSU, who each concluded their 2015 season in the semifinals of the Women’s College World Series, highlight the out-of-conference schedule full of top-tier programs.

The Lancers will play a total of four SEC opponents which includes trips to South Carolina and Mississippi State.

In addition to Auburn and LSU, Longwood will travel to Louisiana-Lafayette and James Madison, who each hosted an NCAA Regional a season ago.

A tournament in Starkville, Miss., from March 4-6, will see sisters Carly and Calynn Adams compete on the same field with Longwood squaring off against Mississippi State, as well as 2015 NCAA Tournament teams Central Arkansas and Tennessee-Chattanooga.

“I believe we have challenged our players with some exciting and difficult non-conference games that raised the bar in regards to the preparation needed for success this spring,” Riley said.

“I know our players appreciate the grind that comes along playing at a high level.”

The Lancers will look to tab its fourth straight 30-win season and pick up the second NCAA Tournament victory in the history of the program as it continues its reign as conference champion.

The Lancers return five Big South all-conference selections, including Big South Pitcher of the Year Biz McCarthy, first team selections Justina Augustine and Emily Murphy, and second team selections Kelsey Sweeney and Glenn Walters.