FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — 35 home games and series against 2009 national champion LSU and College World Series participant Arkansas highlights the 2010 schedule released today by Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin.
The Commodores will face 13 teams that made the NCAA tournament a year ago and 14 teams that finished with 30 or more wins.
Due to changes in the start date for baseball, Vanderbilt will open the season at home for the first time since 2005 as Niagara comes to Hawkins Field the weekend of Feb. 19-21 for a three-game series. VU will play Austin Peay on Feb. 23 before heading to Los Angeles to participate in the Jackie Robinson Tournament the weekend of Feb. 26-28. The Commodores will take on UCLA (Feb. 26) and USC (Feb. 27) at their home parks before concluding the trip against Big 12 power Oklahoma State (Feb. 28) at Dodger Stadium.
“I like the fact that we can open the season here at Hawkins Field for the first time in five years, then go out west the following week to play in a very high caliber tournament to prepare us for Southeastern Conference competition,” said Corbin.
Vanderbilt will return home for a nine-game homestand to start March, including hosting the Music City Classic after a one-year sabbatical. Tennessee Tech (March 2) will take on the Dores to open the skein before Kent State (March 5), Illinois State (March 6) and Indiana (March 7) come to Nashville to participate in the Classic the following weekend. Both Kent State and Indiana made the NCAA field in 2009, with the Commodores and Hoosiers facing off in the Louisville Regional last spring.
VU will close out its non-conference weekend schedule against Ohio (March 12-14) and will play home-and-home games against Western Kentucky (March 16 in Nashville, March 17 in Bowling Green) in midweek action.
The Commodores will open SEC play on the road against Alabama (March 19-21).
Vanderbilt will return home for a seven-game homestand with contests against Lipscomb (March 23), Wright State (March 24) Kentucky (March 26-28) and Wofford (March 30-31).
The Dores open April with a series at Florida (April 2-4) before beginning an eight game stretch at home against Belmont (April 6), South Carolina (April 9-11), Middle Tennessee (April 13) and Auburn (April 16-18).
The team will play its longest stretch away from home at the end of April with six games on the road: Lipscomb (April 20), Middle Tennessee (April 21), Tennessee (April 23-25) and at Austin Peay (April 27).
VU’s final stretch of regular season contests begins with a home series against Georgia (April 30, May 1-2) followed by a road series against defending national champions LSU (May 7-9). The Tigers are back on the schedule after a two-year absence due to the SEC schedule rotation. Ole Miss is not on the schedule for the next two years.
Vanderbilt will host Louisville in a rematch of last season’s regional championship game on May 11.
The Dores will travel to Mississippi State the weekend of May 14-16, before closing out the regular season at home against College World Series participant Arkansas on May 20-22. The series against the Razorbacks is a Thursday, Friday, Saturday set that every team in the league plays on the final weekend in preparation for the conference tournament.
The SEC tourney begins on May 26 in Hoover, Ala., and runs until May 30.
