FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State Owls will open the 2012 season hosting Bradley and Virginia Tech as part of Opening Weekend on Feb. 17-19 at Stillwell Stadium, as head coach Mike Sansing and the Kennesaw State Department of Athletics released the 2012 baseball schedule on Thursday.
The 56-game schedule features 27 home games, with annual visits to Stillwell Stadium from Georgia State, Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech. In addition, for the first time in the program’s history, the Owls will play all six NCAA Division I baseball programs from the state of Georgia.
The Owls, who are coming off their first-ever Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament appearance, will play the Yellow Jackets in home-and-home games, with Georgia Tech coming to campus on Apr. 3 after the Owls visit Atlanta on Feb. 29 for a Wednesday afternoon game.
The Black and Gold will also play Georgia Southern, Georgia State and A-Sun rival Mercer in home-and-home match-ups. The Owls will visit Statesboro on Apr. 10 before hosting the Eagles on May 15 in the final non-conference game of the season. Mercer visits Stillwell Stadium on Apr. 18 for a non-conference game.
The Panthers of Georgia State and the Owls will play a weekend series beginning with a Friday night affair in Panthersville on Mar. 9, followed by afternoon games Mar. 10-11 at Stillwell Stadium.
The Owls will host Savannah State on Apr. 25 and play Georgia in their lone 2012 meeting against the Bulldogs on Mar. 6 at Coolray Field, home of the Gwinnett Braves, in Lawrenceville, Ga.
“We have a very exciting schedule this season,” said Sansing. “Playing all six Division I schools in the state of Georgia is big for us and for baseball in this state.”
The excitement of Kennesaw State baseball at Stillwell Stadium begins on Opening Weekend when the Owls host Bradley and Virginia Tech for three action-packed days of games. Six games will be played over three days, with the Black and Gold opening up the 2012 season on Friday, Feb. 17 against Bradley.
Kennesaw State will play Virginia Tech on Saturday before playing both teams in a Sunday doubleheader, with the Owls playing Bradley in the morning and Virginia Tech in the afternoon.
“The opening weekend is exciting, bringing Bradley and Virginia Tech to campus,” added Sansing. “Both are very good programs and should provide an exciting start to the season.”
The Owls first road trip of the year will be the longest of the season, as the Black and Gold begin a 10-game trip at Alabama State, before visiting Memphis for a three-game series at FedEx Park. KSU will return to their home state for a midweek game at Georgia Tech before a three-game series at Jacksonville State. The road trip wraps up with single games at Georgia and Georgia State.
The conference schedule begins Mar. 16-18 with a three-game series at Atlantic Sun Conference rival Mercer, marking the second straight year the Owls and the Bears will be playing in Macon. A three-game series at Jacksonville on Mar. 23-25 follows before the A-Sun home opener against North Florida on Mar. 30 at Stillwell Stadium.
Two NCAA participants come to Stillwell Stadium in April, beginning with the A-Sun defending regular season champion Stetson Hatters coming to town on April 13-15 before the Belmont Bruins visit campus for their final visit to campus as an A-Sun member. The Hatters and Bruins are two of six teams the Owls will face in 2012 who advanced to 2011 NCAA Regionals, joining Jacksonville, Georgia Southern, Georgia and Georgia Tech on the slate for the Black and Gold.
The 2012 regular season concludes at The Shake when the Owls host the East Tennessee State Buccaneers on May 17-19 in a three-game series.
The remainder of the home slate features single games with UAB (Mar. 13), Presbyterian (Mar. 14), Western Carolina (Date TBD), Alabama State (Apr. 11) and Jacksonville State (Apr. 17).
