INDIANAPOLIS - As the calendar inches closer to 2024, the defending Crossroads League champion and fifth-rated Marian softball team have officially finalized their schedule for the upcoming season. Marian is entering the 2024 season coming off a 52-9 record in their 2023 campaign, winning both the Crossroads League regular season and tournament titles, the NAIA Opening Round hosted by the Knights on their home diamond, and a fourth place finish at the NAIA World Series.

Marian will play a competitive 50-game schedule in their 2024 season, playing 12 games against teams featured in the preseason NAIA Top-25 Coaches' Poll. In addition to the Knights 36-game Crossroads League schedule, Marian will play 14 non-conference games to build their 2024 slate. The Knights' 14 non-conference games are scheduled for late February and early March, all to be played prior to the start of Crossroads League play.

The season gets underway on February 27, as Marian travels to (RV) IU-Southeast for their season opening doubleheader. Marian will finish their first week of the season with their home opener on February 29, hosting (RV) Indiana Tech at 2 p.m. at the MU Softball Diamond. After their opening games in Indiana, the Knights will travel to Melbourne, Florida, for their annual spring break trip. Marian will play five games against schools out of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference during the week, and will also feature first-ever matchups with Keiser and Mount Marty on the backend of the trip.

The Crossroads League season will begin on March 12, as Marian travels to Grace College for their opening league games. The first home twin bill of the league season will be played on March 15 against St. Francis, and the opening week of conference play ends at Huntington. Marian will travel to Goshen and Spring Arbor in the second week of the conference season, while getting a top-25 showdown sandwiched in between as they host No. 14 Indiana Wesleyan on March 22. The third week of the season will be played at home with Bethel and (RV) Mount Vernon Nazarene coming to Indianapolis, and the first half of the league year ends on April 2 at Taylor.

After traveling to St. Francis to begin the second half of the conference slate, Marian will host six consecutive games with Huntington, Grace, and Goshen coming to town. In the penultimate week of the regular season the Knights will take on Bethel, Spring Arbor, and Indiana Wesleyan, going on the road to take on the Pilots and Wildcats. The final week of the regular season starts at Mount Vernon Nazarene on April 23, and will conclude with a Saturday senior day doubleheader against Taylor on April 27. 

Spring Arbor will host the Crossroads League Tournament for the 2024 season, hosting from May 1 through May 3. The Knights will hope to be in position to host the NAIA Opening Round for a second consecutive season in 2024, with the first part of the NAIA Tournament starting on May 13. The NAIA World Series once again returns Columbus, Georgia, with the final stage of the tournament starting on May 23. 

The 2024 schedule features four home doubleheaders on Saturday, three more than the 2023 schedule had. Two of the weekend doubleheaders will be aired on the ISC Sports Network, with the Mount Vernon Nazarene and Taylor twin bills being featured on the network with the four-camera layout.

The first pitch of the 2024 season is 90 days away, as the Knights are scheduled to open on Tuesday, February 27 at (RV) IU-Southeast for a 2:00 p.m. doubleheader.

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