FROM PRESS RELEASE
ST. LOUIS – New Saint Louis baseball coach Darin Hendrickson today announced his 2008 baseball slate. The schedule is highlighted by an exhibition game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla., as well as a five-game spring-break trip to Bradenton, Fla. In addition, the campaign features games against several regional rivals including Southeast Missouri State, Illinois, Missouri State and Southern Illinois.
“I am pleased with the schedule we have put together despite just coming in during the summer,” Hendrickson said. “The schedule is set up to help get us on the road to success. Our goal is to play schools with similar budgets, academic requirements and histories. We need to clearly define who we are and try to prepare ourselves each year for exciting A-10 play.”
Punctuating the slate is an exhibition game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, Feb. 27, at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla. The matchup is the first Spring Training appearance for the Cardinals. First pitch is slated for 12:05 p.m. (CT).
“The Cardinals game will be a monumental moment for Saint Louis University baseball,” Hendrickson said. “The positive experience we will receive from playing our hometown team, a team many of our players grew up idolizing, is overwhelming. It will be a fun-filled day just to be on the field with the actual St. Louis Cardinals. It will probably be a thing that does not hit our program or school until after the fact.”
The Hendrickson era officially begins on Friday, Feb. 22, with a three-game series at Belmont in Nashville, Tenn. Following the Cardinals game, the team will travel to Birmingham, Ala., to open a three-game set with Samford.
The home opener is set for Tuesday, March 4, against Southeast Missouri State at the Billiken Sports Center, with Bradley visiting the next day. After a trip to Sam Houston State’s tournament, a game against SEMO in Cape Girardeau, Mo., and a home game against cross-town foe Fontbonne, the Billikens embark on their five-game road trip to the IMG Classic in Bradenton, Fla. The highlight of that tournament with be SLU’s matchup against Ohio State on Wednesday, March19.
SLU will head straight from Bradenton, Fla., to Charlotte, N.C., to open Atlantic 10 Conference play with a three-game series at Charlotte beginning Friday, March 22. SLU’s 27 game league schedule features three-game home series against Fordham, La Salle, George Washington and Temple. The Bills travel to Charlotte, Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure, Richmond and Duquesne.
Other regional matchups of note include a Tuesday, March 25, contest against Illinois State at the Billiken Sports Center. SLU travels to Champaign, Ill, to face Illinois on Wednesday, April 2. On Wednesday, April 9, neighbor Harris-Stowe will visit the BSC for the first time since 2003. The Billikens travel to Missouri State on Tuesday, April 8, with the game returning to St. Louis on Wednesday, April 23.
Prior to the final homestand of the year on Thursday, May 15, against Temple, the Billikens square off against Southern Illinois at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Ill.
The top six teams in the A-10 are invited to the A-10 Baseball Championship, which will be held May 21-23 at Campbell’s Field in Camden, N.J.
