TicketsSept. 16, 2009
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.- The University of Cincinnati baseball team will participate in the second annual Big Ten/BIG EAST Baseball Challenge, hosted by the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Sports Commission. The Challenge features 30 games over three days beginning on February 26 at current and former big league facilities in the St. Petersburg and Clearwater, Fla., area.
“We are very happy to once again host the Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge,” said Kevin Smith, director of the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Sports Commission. “The inaugural event exceeded our expectations on all fronts, setting up what we hope will be an even more successful second year.”
In addition to Clearwater’s Bright House Field, the spring home of the 2008 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies, and Dunedin Stadium, the spring home of the Toronto Blue Jays, games will be played in Clearwater at Jack Russell Stadium, longtime spring headquarters for the Phillies, as well as in St. Petersburg at Al Lang Stadium and the Naimoli Complex, both of which hosted spring training for the Tampa Bay Rays until this season. There will be 10 games each day matching up teams from the Big Ten and BIG EAST Conference.
Looking to better its showing in the Challenge last season, the Bearcats first game matches them against the Nittany Lions of Penn State, on Friday, Feb. 26, beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Al Lang Stadium. This marks the first ever meeting between the two schools.
The second game pits the Bearcats against the Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday, Feb. 27, at 1 p.m. at Jack Russell Stadium in a rematch of last season’s opener.
The tournament will conclude with UC taking on the defending Big Ten Regular-Season Champion, Ohio State. This marks the second season in a row that the two schools will battle each other to close out the three-day event. Last season, the game went back and forth, but a fifth-inning sacrifice fly by the Buckeyes proved to be the difference as the Bearcats were unable to come out on top, losing 6-5. The game will be played at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 28 at the Naimoli Complex.
Last year’s Challenge, which featured eight programs from the BIG EAST and all ten Big Ten baseball-playing institutions, was won by the Big Ten, 15-9. Georgetown, which competed in 2009, will not be back in 2010, allowing newcomers Rutgers, Louisville, and Villanova to participate. Rounding out the BIG EAST contingent is Cincinnati, Connecticut, Notre Dame, St. John’s, Seton Hall, South Florida (USF), and West Virginia. Big Ten participants include Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, and Purdue.
“We are pleased to again have the opportunity for our student-athletes and coaches to participate in the Big Ten/BIG EAST Baseball Challenge,” said BIG EAST Conference Commissioner John Marinatto. “The St. Petersburg/Clearwater area has proven to be both an outstanding destination and venue for our baseball teams and our fans. We look forward to yet another first-class event against first-class competition in a setting that is second to none.”
In July, the BIG EAST Conference announced that the 2010 and 2011 BIG EAST Conference Baseball Championships would continue to be played at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla.