TicketsBaseball Announces 2005 Schedule
A total of 30 home games dot season's slate
Contact: Shawn Sell
11/4/2004
Junior Jack Nelson is one of 20 returning letterwinners for the UC Baseball team. |
CINCINNATI, Ohio---A total of 30 home games and contests against six NCAA Tournament participants highlight the University of Cincinnati's 2005 baseball schedule, which gets underway on Feb. 11.
UC will open the season at Florida Atlantic, one of the six NCAA qualifiers, in a weekend series, Feb. 11-13. The home portion of the docket kicks off on March 4, with a three-game series against Cleveland State. The Bearcats open their final season of Conference USA play March 18-20, when Louisville visits the UC Baseball Stadium.
"The thing we are looking forward to this season is the 30 home games," stated Bearcat head coach Brian Cleary. "After two years of playing mostly on the road, to have so many home games is great for our players, our fans and our program. I think what separates us from some of the other programs in Ohio is the strength of our schedule in terms of the competitive non-conference portion and playing in Conference USA. We always try to challenge our team and this year should be no different."
The always rigorous C-USA slate includes series against three of the league's four NCAA Tournament teams, including a visit by TCU, May 6-8. UC makes road trips to face Southern Miss (March 25-27) and East Carolina (April 29-May 1), both of whom made postseason appearances in 2004. The league's final tournament team, Tulane, is the one C-USA team the Bearcats will not face this season.
The final two postseason qualifiers the Bearcats will play will come in one game, midweek contests. UC travels to future BIG EAST rival Notre Dame on March 22, while entertaining Kent State from the Mid-American Conference on May 3.
In addition to the trip to Florida Atlantic, UC will make visits to Atlantic Coast Conference members Duke (Feb. 18-20) and Wake Forest (Feb. 25-27), before opening the home schedule with nine straight contests. Along with the visits by Cleveland State and Louisville, Western Michigan will be in town to round out the home stand, March 11-13.
The month of May will see a season-long 10-game home stand for the Bearcats, beginning with the Kent State contest and the TCU series. During the stretch, UC will also face local rivals Miami (May 10) and Xavier (May 11), along with C-USA foe Memphis (May 13-15) and non-conference opponent Eastern Kentucky (May 17).
The 2005 C-USA Tournament is scheduled for May 25-29 and will be hosted by Southern Miss. UC will be trying to qualify for the event after missing in each of the last three seasons.
The Bearcats return a total of 20 letterwinners from a 2004 team that finished the campaign with a 15-40 overall record.