FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
Hempstead, NY – Games against four 2011 NCAA Tournament Teams, including NCAA Super Regional participant Florida State, and a neutral site series against Notre Dame highlight the 2012 Hofstra Baseball schedule that was released today by Head Coach Patrick Anderson.
“We feel that the 2012 schedule provides us the best opportunity to prepare ourselves for Colonial Athletic Association play starting in March,” said Anderson. “The challenges of playing away from home in very difficult environments will test us to the extreme. With the experience we have coming back and playing in numerous hostile ballparks over the last two years, our 2012 team is very excited to embrace this year’s scheduled opponents. Playing 10 weekends in the CAA is a grind and having the opportunity to play quality midweek opponents puts us in the best position to be prepared for our six-team CAA Championship at the end of the season.”
The 53-game slate opens Friday, February 17 when the Pride travel to Tallahassee, Florida to take on perennial national power Florida State. The Seminoles were 46-19 in 2011 and advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals. From there, the Pride will travel to Cary, North Carolina, for a three-game series against the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, February 25 and a single game on Sunday, February 26.
Other non-conference matchups include games against 2011 NCAA Regional participants St. John’s (April 11 at St. John’s) and Manhattan (March 21 at Manhattan). The Pride will also face Quinnipiac, Fordham (twice), Marist, Delaware State (three-game series), Albany (twice) New York Tech (twice) and Rutgers in non-conference outings. Overall, Hofstra’s non-conference opponents posted a 337-303-2 record and a .526 winning percentage in 2011, with five teams winning at least 30 games.
The Pride will not open their home schedule until March 16 when they host Virginia Commonwealth in the opening game of a three-game Colonial Athletic Association series. Hofstra will host five weekend conference series, including a three-game set against defending CAA Champion and NCAA Regional participant James Madison on April 20-22. In addition to VCU and JMU, Hofstra will also host Georgia State (April 6-8), Northeastern (May 4-6) and William and Mary (May 18-19).
The Pride return 22 players from last season’s squad, including All-CAA performers Danny Poma, Matt Reistetter and Kenny Jackson. Poma was a first team outfield selection in 2011, while Reistetter was a third team pick at catcher. Jackson, an outfielder, was an all-rookie selection. The Pride also return their top starting pitcher in David D’Errico and closer Bryan Verbitsky.
