SAN MARCOS, Calif. – After 698 days away from competition, the Cal State San Marcos softball team is anxious to return as Head Coach Stef Ewing announced the Cougars' 2022 schedule on Tuesday.

The Cougars were last on the field in an exhibition game against Team USA on March 8, 2020. The game was part of Team USA's Stand Beside Her Tour in its preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The 2022 schedule consists of 48 games and is highlighted by four home CCAA weekends and two nonconference doubleheaders at the CSUSM Softball Field.

"Words cannot express what it's going to feel like for this group to step back on the field in February," said Ewing. "This team has put a lot of hard work in and is ready to get after it one pitch at a time."

CSUSM will begin its season at the Concordia Kickoff Classic on Feb. 4-5 where the Cougars will face Montana State Billings, Azusa Pacific, Dominican, Western Oregon and Holy Names.  
The Cougars' home opener will be on Saturday, Feb. 12 when they welcome PacWest Conference's Azusa Pacific for a doubleheader on the CSUSM Softball Field.
 
CSUSM will begin CCAA action on the road, traveling to Stanislaus State for a four-game series on Feb. 18-19.
 
Right away, the Cougars will take a break from conference play on Tuesday, Feb. 22 with a doubleheader against GNAC's Simon Fraser. The Cougars round out the month of February with a pair of doubleheaders against Sonoma State in their conference home opener beginning on Friday, Feb. 25.
 
For the month of March, the Cougars will play at Cal State San Bernardino (March 4-5) and at Chico State (March 18-19).  CSUSM will host a pair of Bay Area teams the other two weekends that month, welcoming Cal State East Bay (March 11-12) and San Francisco State (March 25-26) to CSUSM Softball Field.
 
The Cougars will take a two-week hiatus from conference action the first weeks of April, traveling to Concordia University Irvine on Saturday, April 9 for a twinbill.
 
CSUSM will once again return to CCAA play on April 15-16 when the Cougars compete at Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Cougars will play their final home games against Cal State Monterey Bay on April 22-23 before closing out the regular season at Humboldt State on April 29-30.
  
The top six teams in the CCAA standings at the end of the regular season will head to the campus of Cal State Monterey Bay for the 2022 CCAA Tournament on May 5-8.

For the complete schedule, click here.