WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. –The Monmouth University baseball team announced its 2015 schedule on Friday afternoon, including 54 games and 20 home contests. MU, under the direction of 22nd year head coach Dean Ehehalt, will face competition from ten different conferences and open the season February 13.
“I’m excited about the challenge our pre-conference schedule will give us,” said Head Coach Dean Ehehalt. “Historically, we make a huge effort to play quality programs early in the season that will enable us to prepare for the conference season. The start to our 2015 schedule will really provide a nice test and enable us to see where we are at as a program.”
Monmouth opens the 2015 campaign with a three-game trip at Dallas Baptist, last year’s Missouri Valley Conference champion, from February 13-15 before heading to James Madison for a weekend series with the Dukes the following weekend. Coach Ehehalt’s squad closes out February with three games at Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton, Fla., where the Hawks opened last season with a 5-1 win over the Owls.
The non-conference slate continues from March 6-8 at East Carolina for a weekend set, before again heading south for a weekend tournament at Virginia Commonwealth on March 13-15. MU takes on VCU on their home turf Friday before a Saturday tilt against Minnesota and a Sunday game against James Madison. The Hawks remain in Richmond, Va. for a Tuesday game with the Rams before heading north for a local trip to Philadelphia on Wednesday, March 18 when Monmouth plays St. Joe’s.
The first home games of the season come sandwiched in between two road dates at Wagner, with the Hawks and Seahawks playing a four-game set on March 20-22. Friday and Sunday mark single games in Staten Island, with a Saturday doubleheader serving as the home opener in West Long Branch. One more matchup with a Northeast Conference foe, a home date with Fairleigh Dickinson on March 25, remains before the beginning of conference play.
MAAC play opens at home for MU for a second consecutive year with Manhattan entering for three on March 28-29. Every conference weekend contains a doubleheader Saturday consisting of a nine-inning and seven-inning contest, followed by a single nine-inning affair on Sunday.
The Blue and White will take on Garden State rival Rutgers on the road on April 1 before heading home to take on Quinnipiac in a conference set on April 3-4. The Hawks defeated the Bobcats in last year’s MAAC Tournament to eliminate QU. Monmouth remains home for another in-state contest with Princeton on Wednesday, April 8 before hitting the road for seven in a row.
Iona, a team Monmouth swept a year ago at home, is next up for MU on April 11-12 in New Rochelle before a third straight midweek game with a New Jersey school on April 14 at Seton Hall. A trip to Buffalo follows, as the Hawks head to Niagara the next weekend before a home game with Seton Hall on April 21. Lafayette visits the shore on April 22 as the second game of a seven-game home stand, including a visit from Canisius on April 25-26. Hofstra and Saint Joe’s come in for two midweek games to wrap up April.
The first weekend of May has the Hawks traveling to Siena before coming back to West Long Branch for the final conference weekend against Saint Peter’s. Monmouth will then go to Lawrenceville, N.J. to close out the regular season at Rider. A May 13 game at LaSalle is in between those MAAC series.
Manhattan College will host the 2015 MAAC Tournament at Duchess Stadium in Fishkill, N.Y. The stadium is home to the Hudson Valley Renegades of the New York Penn League, the single-A short season affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.
