ROCHESTER, Mich. – The 2022 Oakland University Softball schedule announces its release on Monday featuring a slew of Horizon League action, two trips to renowned invitations, and non-conference battles with the likes of Florida State, Michigan, and Michigan State. 

This year's schedule features seven NCAA Tournament teams from last year, two of which were Women's College World Series finalists.

Things get started in Orlando, Florida on the campus of University of Central Florida (UCF) for the Knights Classic where the Golden Grizzlies squad will fire off the season with a double header against 2021 NCAA Women's College World Series finalist James Madison University as well as DePaul University on Friday, February 25. 

The next three days, OU will do battle with two straight Southeastern Conference (SEC) teams in University of Florida, who was the No. 4 National Seed last season, Ole Miss, and finally against host UCF on that Monday, February 28. UCF and Ole Miss were each at-large bids in the NCAA Tournament last season.

In the Knights Classic, Oakland will face four tournament teams from 2021, two at-larges and two national seed teams. 

On the way back home, the Golden Grizzlies will have a non-conference showdown with Florida State University on Wednesday, March 2 with the No. 10 National Seed and Women's College World Series team Seminoles in Tallahassee en route to the squad's next invite in Evansville, Indiana starting on Friday, March 4. 

A double header on Friday, March 4 with Bowling Green State University and host University of Evansville are up next to start the team's second invitational of the year. The team will play in another double header the next day on Saturday, March 5 with Morehead State University and Creighton University to round out the trip. 

Horizon League play opens up on Friday, March 11 against Northern Kentucky University before a road non-league match with University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, March 16. 

OU's home opener will be Friday, March 18 against Indiana University, Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) before the team hosts Horizon League regular season champions, Youngstown State University, on Friday, March 25. 

Two league series with Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday, April 1 and University of Detroit Mercy on Friday, April 8 at home sandwich the team's third solo non-conference road game with Michigan State University on Tuesday, April 5. 

From then, the team finishes out conference play with four opponents in University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC), Cleveland State University, Robert Morris University, and University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. 

UIC and Oakland met twice during the 2021 Horizon League Softball Tournament as the Flames knocked out the Golden Grizzlies in the championship game by a score of 4-3, receiving an auto bid to the NCAA Tournament as they were selected for the Columbia Regional as they dropped two straight to host No. 8 seed University of Missouri and Iowa State University.

The 2022 Horizon League Softball Tournament will start Wednesday, May 11 and run through the championship on Saturday, May 14 played at the No. 1 Seed's field.