FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
The Georgia State baseball team will open defense of its 2009 CAA Championship by travelling to face Florida State in an opening weekend three-game series to start the 2010 season as announced by head coach Greg Frady on Friday. The Panthers unveiled the entire schedule that will feature 29 home games.
After earning its first CAA Championship and a school-record 39 wins, the journey back to the NCAA Regionals will begin on February 19th in Tallahassee, Fla.
Among the highlights to the 2010 schedule will be a home and home series with Georgia Tech, as well as single games at Georgia and Auburn. The Panthers will also travel west to face New Mexico State in Las Cruces, N.M. the second weekend of March.
Georgia State will face cross-town rival Georgia Tech at home on March 30th. It will mark the first time the two school’s played since the dramatic NCAA Regional last May.
The Panthers will also match-up against in-state foes Kennesaw State and Mercer. After winning the CAA Championship in Wilmington, N.C., Georgia State will travel back to the coast, May 8-9, to face the Seahawks the weekend after final exams.
"I am very excited about our 2010 schedule," commented head coach Greg Frady. "We have a very challenging non-conference schedule that will definitely prepare us for CAA play. To start the season against Florida State will be both a great challenge and a wonderful opportunity. I think the schedule features a good balance of home and away games, as well as allowing us to play our natural rivalries during the middle of the week."
The schedule includes nine games over teams that made the NCAA Regionals in 2009. State will also play nine games against teams that won 40 or more games in 2009 and 19 games against teams that won at least 30 games.
Although the Panthers won the CAA Tournament, the regular season title went to George Mason. The Patriots will travel to Panthersville for a three-game series beginning on April 30th. Georgia State will also have home CAA series against Hofstra (April 9-11), Northeastern (May 14-16) and William & Mary (May 21-23).
Along with the CAA series in Wilmington, the Panthers will travel to Old Dominion (March 26-28), Towson (April 2-4) and VCU (April 23-25).
The home opener will come on Tuesday, February 23rd as Georgia State hosts USC-Upstate at 4 p.m. The following day, the Panthers will make the trip to Spartanburg to face the Spartans.
After a rare in-season weekend off, Georgia State will play the first of three games this season with Mercer, beginning on March 3rd. State will travel to Macon on April 13th and also face the Bears at home again on April 21st.
The home stand will continue with four games against North Carolina Central beginning on March 5th, followed by a midweek home series against UNC Asheville.
Following the trip to New Mexico State, March 12-14, the Panthers will travel north on I-75 to face Kennesaw State on March 17th. The Owls will return to Atlanta on March 24th.
In between those two games, the Panthers will travel to Clarksville, Tenn. for a tournament hosted by Austin Peay. Georgia State will take on the host Governors on March 20th, with match-ups against Centenary on the 19thand 20th as well.
The Panthers will play the first of two games against Alabama State on March 23rd, with the Hornets returning back to Panthersville on April 28th.
Georgia State will travel just across the state line into Alabama to face Auburn on April 6th in a rematch of last year’s game that saw the Panthers allow only four hits to the Tigers.
The Air Force Academy will travel to Panthersville for a four-game series beginning on April 16th. It will mark the first time the two schools have met on the diamond.
Non-conference play will conclude with a pair of road games. The Panthers will travel to Athens on May 11th to face the Bulldogs and then a week later travel across town to face Georgia Tech on May 18th.
Georgia State will play a very balanced schedule this season, as the Panthers will have 29 home and 27 road games to fill out the 56 game schedule.
The top four teams in the CAA will meet in Wilmington this year to determine the CAA Tournament Champion. The tournament will take place from May 27-29th. The winner receives an automatic berth into this year’s NCAA Tournament which will begin the following week.
