FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
Nick Martini
MANHATTAN, Kan. – A 31-game home slate and a 12-game stretch in the state of Kansas to end the season highlight the 2011 baseball schedule released by head coach Brad Hill on Monday.
The schedule also features a midseason run that sees the Wildcats play 14-of-16 games against teams that made the NCAA field a year ago, including Super Regional runner-up Texas and College World Series participant Oklahoma.
“Coach (Sean) McCann has put together another solid, competitive schedule,” Hill said. “We will challenge our squad early, going from West Coast to East Coast on consecutive weekends and have a nice nine-game home stretch before opening Big 12 play with tough consecutive road series at Texas and Baylor. We have a very good home schedule with 31 games at Tointon and nine of our last 12 in Manhattan. Our fan support has been tremendous the last couple of years, and we look forward to playing in front of our great fan base again this spring.”
K-State will also face three opponents for the first time in school history, while it will battle four other nonconference opponents that the Wildcats haven’t faced in at least four years.
The 2011 campaign gets underway with a three-game weekend series at Pacific, February 18-20, in Stockton, Calif. The Wildcats defeated the Tigers, 7-4, in San Diego, Calif., in 2009.
K-State will then face a challenging field at the Caravelle Resort’s Baseball at the Beach, hosted by Coastal Carolina, Thursday-Sunday, February 24-27, at BB&T Coastal Field in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Wildcats begin the tournament by taking on the home-standing Chanticleers, who hosted a Super Regional last year and were topped by eventual national champion South Carolina. It will be the first-ever matchup on the diamond between the two schools. Following a first-ever meeting against Western Kentucky on Friday, February 25, and a rematch with Pacific on Saturday, February 26, K-State finishes the tournament by taking on NCAA Regional participant California on Sunday, February 27.
The 2011 home slate opens on Friday, March 4, with a four-game series against Western Illinois, which features a Saturday doubleheader. The Wildcats will take on the same schedule the following weekend, March 11-13, by hosting Long Island in the first matchup between the two schools since 1992, while they host Big 12 foe Nebraska in a nonconference game on Wednesday, March 16.
Kansas State’s Big 12 schedule opens with two tough opponents on the road as the Cats travel to the University of Texas, March 18-20, before heading back to the Lone Star State the following weekend, March 25-27, to face 2010 regional participant Baylor.
After a midweek series against Northern Colorado in Manhattan on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 29 and 30, K-State opens its Big 12 home slate with another regional participant, Texas A&M, April 1-3, while it hosts the Sooners the following weekend, April 8-10.
Sandwiched in between the Texas A&M and Oklahoma series, Kansas State will travel to Minneapolis, Minn., to square off against Big Ten Champion Minnesota, April 5-6, at the Metrodome.
The following week, April 12 and 13, Kansas State travels to Omaha, Neb., for a Tuesday contest at Creighton before coming home to face in-state rival Wichita State on Wednesday. The Wildcats head back to the state of Nebraska over the weekend to play their final Big 12 series against the Cornhuskers, April 15-17.
K-State returns home the following week to host Missouri State for the first time since 1992 on Tuesday, April 19, while Texas Tech comes calling to Manhattan for a Thursday-Saturday (April 21-23) series due to Easter weekend.
Following their first off week in nearly a month, the Cats travel to Oklahoma State for a three-game series, Friday, April 29, through Sunday, May 1.
The Sunday game in Stillwater, Okla., is the last outside the state of Kansas until the Big 12 Championship as nine of the final 12 games are at home, while the Cats travel in-state for their final three road games of the year.
The home stretch of the schedule begins with a midweek series against Cal State Bakersfield, Tuesday and Wednesday, April 3 and 4. The series will mark the first-ever meeting between the Cats and Roadrunners.
K-State hosts its final conference series of the year against Missouri, May 6-8, while the Wildcats entertain New Orleans the following weekend, May 13-15. It will be the first time since 1987 that the Cats will face the Privateers, but the first time that UNO will travel to Manhattan.
Kansas State completes its season series with Wichita State on Tuesday, May 17, at Eck Stadium in Wichita, which marks the latest date in a season the two schools will meet.
The 2011 home finale is scheduled for Friday, May 20, as K-State hosts Kansas in the Dillion’s Sunflower Showdown. The Wildcats and Jayhawks shift their series to Lawrence, Kan., for the final two games of the regular season on Saturday and Sunday, May 21-22.
The 2011 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship is scheduled for Wednesday through Sunday, May 25-29. This year’s championship will feature a double-elimination format for the first time since 2005 after five seasons of pool play. The eight teams that qualify will be split into two four-team divisions and will use double-elimination to determine a winner of each division to play in the championship game on Sunday.
For the first time in school history, all 56 games will be broadcast either online for free at www.k-statesports.com and www.1350kman.com, over the air on SportsRadio 1350 KMAN or across the K-State Sports Network. A complete broadcast list, including televised games, will be released at a later date.
Information regarding season and single game tickets will also be announced at a later date.
