FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason University's softball team will make two early season trips to sunny Florida to participate in the River City Invitational and Jacksonville Invitational, both hosted by Jacksonville University, as part of its 54-game, regular season schedule in 2017.

The tournaments will be played in the second weekend of February – opening weekend for the Patriots – and the third weekend of March, respectively. During those weekends, Mason will play the host Dolphins and Columbia a total of three times each, College of Charleston twice, and Appalachian State once.

Between the River City Invitational and the Jacksonville Invitational, the Patriots, headed by head coach Joe Verbanic (13^th season) and his assistant Caitlyn de la Haba (second season), will host the annual Patriot Classic (March 3-5) and Cherry Blossom Classic (March 11-12), in which they will again see the Lions, frequent participants Army, Akron and Cornell twice each, in addition to two games against Fairfield on March 5. In the weeks leading up to each home tournament, Mason will play single home games against Buffalo (Feb. 24) and North Carolina State (March 7), respectively.

On their way down to Jacksonville for the second time, the Patriots will play their first true doubleheaders of the season as they visit Bethune-Cookman (March 14) in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Stetson (March 15) in DeLand, Fla. The games will continue Mason's series against both opponents, which started last season.
Immediately following the Jacksonville Invitational the Patriots, who added 12 new faces in the offseason, will dive into Atlantic 10 Conference play with a home series against La Salle (March 25-26). A five-game homestand will be completed in midweek with a doubleheader against local rival Towson (March 29) before Mason hits the road for the first time in A-10 play as it travels to Dayton for a three-game series in the first two days of April.

Following that stretch Mason will host its second-longest homestand of the season, including midweek doubleheaders against in-state opponents Virginia (April 5) and Hampton (April 12). The homestand also features an A-10 series against reigning champion Fordham in the weekend between them.

Conference play will pick up drastically in the latter half of April as the Patriots travel to Rhode Island on Easter weekend for a doubleheader on Friday and a single game on Saturday before heading to the nation's capital for a Revolutionary Rivalry doubleheader against George Washington on April 19. Mason next welcomes St. Bonaventure to Fairfax on April 22-23 and completes its non-conference schedule with a single home game against Georgetown (April 26).
The Patriots will end April with their final road series at Saint Louis and will then close out the regular season in front of their home fans against Saint Joseph's on May 6-7.

Mason will hope to return to postseason in front of its home fans with the George Mason Softball Complex scheduled to host the 2017 Atlantic 10 Championship between May 10 and May 13. In their last postseason appearance, the Patriots made a run to the semifinals two seasons ago, defeating eventual champion Dayton in the process.