FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall University head baseball coach, Jeff Waggoner, announced the 2010 schedule on Thursday afternoon. The Herd schedule is slated for 55 total games, including seven opponents that qualified for the NCAA Regionals in 2009.
MU will play regional qualifiers Georgia Southern, Ohio State and Wright State, super regional teams East Carolina and Rice, along with Virginia and Southern Miss, which advanced to the College World Series last year.
“I am excited about playing a challenging schedule this upcoming season,” Waggoner said. “Taking on teams that went to Omaha last year will be a great test for our team and our program.”
The Herd opens the season in Birmingham, Ala., in a four-game series against Samford from Feb. 19-22.
MU will then take part in the first of two tournaments, in Charleston, S.C., hosted by the Citadel. Along with playing the tournament-host on Feb. 26, the Herd battles Radford and St. Joseph’s on Feb. 27 and 28.
To start the month of March, MU will play a three-game series against NCAA Regional qualifier, Georgia Southern from March 5-7. The Eagles finished 42-17, with a 20-8 record in the Southern Conference last season.
From March 12-14, the Herd will play in a tournament hosted by Tennessee, which includes Connecticut and Ohio State. MU will play the Buckeyes later on in the season (April 28) in a non-conference tilt. OSU finished 42-19 and advanced to the NCAA Regionals hosted by Florida State.
MU will host its first home game in a non-conference battle against Youngstown State on March 17. The Herd follows up with a three-game set against Lemoyne from the 19-21.
The Herd heads to the road again on March 23 to play Virginia, who earned a spot at the College World Series last season. UVA finished with a 49-15-1 record.
After a home game versus Ohio, MU opens the Conference USA schedule with a trip to New Orleans, La., to play Tulane, March 26-28.
The rest of the season includes C-USA series at UAB (April 9-11), ECU (April 30-May 2) and Houston (May 14-16). ECU advanced to the Super Regionals before being knocked out by North Carolina.
Marshall hosts C-USA series against Memphis (April 2-3), Southern Miss (April 16-18), UCF (April 23-25) and Rice (May 7-9). Rice advanced to the Super Regionals, while Southern Miss made a historic run to the College World Series.
The non-conference schedule also includes games with Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State and a three-game series versus Wright State to close out the regular season.
The C-USA Tournament in Houston, Texas, will take place from May 26-29.
“We have our work cut out for us,” Waggoner said. “The early season tournaments will be difficult, but it should have us prepared for conference play.”
FULL 2010 SCHEDULE
