FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
STATESBORO, Ga. – Head Coach Rodney Hennon released the Georgia Southern Eagles’ 2012 baseball schedule which includes 56 games and 29 home dates for the defending Southern Conference Tournament champions. The Eagles open the season with an eight game home stand, beginning on Friday, Feb. 17 when the UT Martin Skyhawks visit J.I. Clements stadium for a three-game weekend series.
“This year’s schedule will be challenging as always, but we’re excited about the teams that we’re going to compete against,” said Head Coach Rodney Hennon.
Georgia Southern resumes its yearly home-and-home series against Georgia Tech, but the teams will play three games instead of four each of the next two seasons. The Eagles will host the Yellow Jackets for one game on Wednesday, Feb. 22, before traveling to Atlanta for two games March 27-28. In 2013, Tech will play two games at J.I. Clements Stadium, while the Eagles will travel to Atlanta for one game.
Georgia Southern will complete its opening eight game home stand with a weekend series against Radford, Feb. 24-26, and a one game date against Mercer on Feb. 28. The Eagles will then play four games in four days against North Florida, including their first two road games of the season in Jacksonville (March 1-2), followed by two at home against the Ospreys (March 3-4).
Five Southern Conference teams will play at J.I. Clements Stadium in 2012, beginning with UNC Greensboro March 16-18. Georgia Southern will also host College of Charleston (March 30-April 1) and Appalachian State (April 13-15), before welcoming Samford in a rematch of last year’s Socon title game (May 4-6). The Eagles will play their last home series of the season against Western Carolina May 11-13.
GSU will begin conference play on the road against the defending SoCon regular season champion Elon Phoenix March 9-11. In other road conference action, the Eagles will play at Furman (March 23-25), Davidson (April 5-7) and The Citadel (April 27-29), before closing out the regular season at Wofford (May 18 and 19 (DH)).
“We have a big series out of the gate at Elon which is a great way to kick-off our conference schedule,” said Hennon.
Georgia Southern welcomes Jacksonville and All-American slugger Adam Brett Walker to J.I. Clements Stadium on March 20, before traveling south for a rematch on April 11. Other mid-week home-and-homes include dates against Kennesaw State (April 10 and May 15) and Charleston Southern (March 6 and May 2).
New additions to this year’s schedule include a one-game date at Wake Forest (March 13) and a three-game series at Big 10 opponent Indiana (April 20-22).
“We have a couple of new additions to the schedule including home games against UT Martin and Radford,” said Hennon. “Traveling to Wake Forest and getting to play a three-game series at Indiana will also be a test for us.”
Georgia Southern will try to repeat its magic from a year ago when they travel to Gainesville for a one-game date at Florida on April 17. Georgia Southern defeated the No. 1 ranked Gators 7-0 early last season, one of four wins over ranked opponents in 2011.
The 2012 Southern Conference Tournament returns to Greenville, S.C. (May 23-27) for the first time since 2009 when the Eagles won four straight games at Fluor Field to win the Southern Conference Championship.
“We’re also excited to return to Greenville for the conference tournament,” said Hennon. “It’s in a good location for a lot of our fans and we’re excited about going back there this season.”
Full 2012 Georgia Southern Schedule
