By: Frank Maira, Assistant Director of Athletics/Sports Information Director

MONT ALTO, Pa. – Penn State Mont Alto softball, under the direction of third-year head coach Heath Newell, released its schedule on Thursday, January 17. The 2019 slate includes 16 home games.

Coming off a season in which the program just missed out on qualifying for the PSUAC Tournament with a 10-10 overall record, Mont Alto looks to return to postseason action with the schedule including 20 conference matchups.

The year opens with a pair of road non-conference games against Penn State Schuylkill on Friday, March 15. They do not count as conference contests due to PSU Schuylkill being in the PSUAC East and Mont Alto being in the PSUAC West division.

Non-conference matchups will continue for the Lions when they host a pair of home doubleheaders against Christendom College on March 18 and Fredrick Community College on March 19.

Four games with Penn State Beaver signals the start of PSUAC play as the Lions host a twin bill on March 22 and play at Beaver one day later. The ladies will then travel to Penn State New Kensington (March 29) for a doubleheader before returning home where they will play New Kensington at their friendly confines.

Mont Alto begins the month of April with an away doubleheader against Christendom College on Wednesday, April 3. The squad will then return to conference play with a home-and-away series with Penn State Greater Allegheny (April 5-6). They will have a week to prepare for another four-game conference series, this time against Penn State DuBois on April 13-14.

The Lions' final non-conference matchup will take place on Tuesday, April 16 when they host Trinity Washington. PSUMA's regular season concludes with a home-and-away series against Penn State Fayette beginning on Friday, April 19. Mont Alto travels to Fayette a day later for both teams' regular season finale.

Penn State DuBois will serve as the host of the PSUAC Tournament (May 5-6) and for the USCAA World Series (May 12-16) for the second-straight year.

All dates and times are subject to change. For the most updated information, stay logged in to psumontaltoathletics.com and follow @PSUMAathletics on Twitter and by liking the "Penn State Mont Alto Athletics" Facebook page.