It might feel barely above zero degrees outside, but inside, Valpo Softball is deep into preparations for the 2021 campaign — a season which starts this weekend as the program announced the entirety of its 2021 game schedule today.

The season kicks off this weekend with four games over three days at the DePaul Dome Tournament in Rosemont, Ill., as Valpo takes on Kansas City twice and Western Illinois in addition to the host Blue Demons. After a weekend off, Valpo then heads to Nashville for doubleheaders Feb. 26-27 against Tennessee State and Belmont.

The next weekend, a trip east is on the docket as Valpo takes part in a tournament at Marshall March 5-7. A brief return back to Valpo for the scheduled home opener against Western Illinois March 10 is followed by an excursion to Louisville for one game against the Cardinals and two versus Western Kentucky March 13-14. Non-conference road games at Notre Dame (March 24) and Northern Illinois (April 14) are also scheduled within the heart of MVC play.

The MVC slate opens for Valpo March 20-21 at Bradley, with each three-game, two-day series featuring a doubleheader the first day and a single game the second day. Valpo will also play three-game sets at Evansville (March 27-28), UNI (April 10-11) and Southern Illinois (May 1-2) within conference play.

The conference home opener sees Valpo welcome Indiana State to town April 2-3. Missouri State (April 17-18), Drake (April 24-25) and Illinois State (May 7-8) are also scheduled to visit the Valpo Softball Complex this year. Valpo’s series with Loyola will be split into a doubleheader in Chicago April 21 and a single game at Valpo April 28.

The MVC Tournament will be held May 13-15 at Evansville, with the top six teams in the regular season standings earning spots in the field. The tournament champion will earn the MVC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Valpo returns 12 letterwinners from last year’s squad which posted a 9-10 record in the truncated 2020 campaign, including eight regulars in the batting order.