FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State baseball announced on Wednesday, September 23 the schedule for the 2010 season. The Seminoles will open the season inside the friendly confines of Dick Howser Stadium on Mike Martin Field with a three-game series against the Georgia State Panthers beginning Friday, February 19.
Ten teams on this year’s schedule recorded 30 or more wins a season ago. Seven schools earned a bid to participate in an NCAA Regional in 2009, while five teams finished last year ranked in the top 25.
"It’s a typical Florida State baseball schedule with some exciting additions," said head coach Mike Martin. "The fact that we are playing the University of Florida four times in 2010; the fact that Georgia is back on the schedule, Georgia State comes on and they went on to the postseason tournament last year for the first time in a long time. And it’s always exciting when we play a major league team."
Also featured on this year’s schedule are a pair of 2009 College World Series participants in North Carolina and Virginia.
The Seminoles, who have won three consecutive ACC Atlantic Division titles, will compete in a 30-game conference schedule for the fifth year in a row playing all but one league school. The lone ACC school off the schedule for the next two years is Georgia Tech.
"The ACC is again going to be very strong from top to bottom," added Martin. "We know that every weekend we have to be at our best to be successful. And it starts right away as we open league play at home against Virginia and then hit the road to face North Carolina, two teams that played in the College World Series last year."
Florida State will open league play at home on Friday, March 12 as the Seminoles welcome Virginia to Tallahassee. Other ACC schools making the trek to the capital city in 2010 include Maryland (March 26-28), Virginia Tech (April 2-4), Miami (April 21-23) and NC State (May 14-16).
League road trips for the Seminoles in 2010 include games at North Carolina (March 19-21), Wake Forest (April 9-11), Duke (April 16-18), Boston College (May 7-9) and Clemson (May 20-22). The Garnet and Gold will get their first taste of the Tar Heels recently renovated Boshamer Stadium, while playing at Wake Forest’s new home field, which was the former home of the Winston-Salem Warthogs (now Winston-Salem Dash), Carolina League single A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.
Florida State’s non-conference schedule is highlighted by two teams from the SEC. The Seminoles host Georgia, in a rematch from last year’s NCAA Regional game in Tallahassee, for a three-game series beginning March 5. Intra-state rival Florida is on the schedule for four games including a home and home match-up and neutral site match-ups in Tampa, Fla., on March 2 and a March 30 showdown at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. The March 2 meeting against the Gators will be played at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Other non-conference opponents include North Florida, Hofstra, Jacksonville (Atlantic-Sun Tournament champions), Stetson, Charleston Southern and LeMoyne.
After a two-year hiatus, Florida State will travel to Clearwater, Fla., to face the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday, March 3. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. first pitch at BrightHouse Networks Field. In 2007, 4,676 fans packed the stadium to watch the exhibition match between the `Noles and the Phillies.
"Once again we are honored to be able to play the Phillies down in Clearwater," stated Martin. "It was unfortunate that the game was rained out in 2008, but for our players to get to spend time with Mike Schmidt in the locker room during the rain storm was a tremendous opportunity and a memory many of those players will never forget. We are just so impressed with their organization and for our team to be invited to play them in 2010 is very exciting."
The Seminoles will conclude their regular season schedule on the road with a three-game series against the Clemson Tigers.
NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro, N.C., will serve as host to the 2010 ACC Baseball Tournament which will be held May 26-30. Greensboro’s downtown stadium first opened its gates on April 3, 2005. The state-of-the-art facility features a 30′ wide, open-air concourse, 36 concession points of sale, a kid-safe play park and the second largest videoboard in the minor leagues. Seating capacity currently stands at 7,499 which includes 5,300 chair back seats, 16 luxury suites and 2 grass berm and picnic areas.
"Hopefully we can get there because this tournament will bring a lot of excitement to the Greensboro area," explained Martin. "There should be a lot of fans in attendance with the close proximity of a few ACC schools in the state of North Carolina. It’s a great facility. Certainly, we have a good number of Seminoles in the North Carolina area as they were on hand to cheer us on during our run to the tournament championship game in Durham last year."
