FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Kentucky baseball team will play 34 games at Cliff Hagan Stadium and will face a grueling 30-game Southeastern Conference schedule for the 2012 season, it was announced by fourth-year UK head coach Gary Henderson on Monday.
“We are excited about our 2012 schedule,” Henderson said. “The team had a great, productive fall and is going to be fun to watch during the spring. With a 34-game schedule at Cliff Hagan, we feel like our fans will get a chance to enjoy watching this team throughout the year.”
The Wildcats will host a total of 34 games at Cliff Hagan Stadium during the 2012 season, including 15 SEC games in Lexington. UK will travel for 22 road games on the year, including its 15 SEC road challenges.
Kentucky will open the 2012 season on the road in South Carolina for the fourth consecutive year, traveling to Spartanburg, S.C., to face off with Wofford in the season lidlifter on Friday, Feb. 17. UK will face Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 18, before wrapping up the opening weekend on Sunday, Feb. 19 at USC Upstate.
“It is always nice to open up the year in South Carolina,” Henderson said. “We have had the opportunity to start our year in South Carolina the last four years and it gives our guys a chance to get away from Lexington and get their first taste of competing on the road.”
UK will then return home for a season-opening 18-game homestand at Cliff Hagan Stadium, starting with the home-opening series vs. Buffalo, from Feb. 24-26. UK will face off with Morehead State (Feb. 28), Xavier (Feb. 29), Illinois-Chicago (March 2-4), Tennessee Tech (March 6), Marshall (March 7), Canisius (March 10-13), Wright State (March 13) and Murray State (March 14).
The Wildcats then conclude its homestand with a three-game SEC opening weekend against the two-time defending NCAA Champion South Carolina Gamecocks, March 16-18.
“Playing in the SEC is a major challenge, there is no better baseball conference in the nation,” Henderson said. “Our guys will be tested every weekend and each game will be a matchup against one of the nation’s best teams.”
Once in the midst of conference play, UK will travel to several non-conference games in the midweek, including traveling to Cincinnati (March 21), Louisville (April 24), Indiana (May 9) and at Murray State (May 15). UK’s game at Murray State will be held for the third time in the last six years in Paducah, Ky., at Brooks Stadium. UK will also host midweek non-conference games against Western Kentucky (March 27), Dayton (April 4), Louisville (April 10) and Cincinnati (April 17).
UK will host five SEC series at Cliff Hagan Stadium, including the South Carolina Series. UK will host Ole Miss (April 6-8), LSU (April 20-22), Florida (May 3-5) and Alabama (May 11-13). UK’s series with Florida was selected as the ESPNU SEC Thursday Night Game of the Week on May 3, making the series a Thursday-Saturday set.
On the road in conference play, the Wildcats will travel to Tennessee (March 23-25), Georgia (March 30-April 1), Arkansas (April 13-15) and Vanderbilt (April 27-29). UK concludes its 2012 season in Starkville, Miss., from May 17-19 against Mississippi State.
While the ESPNU SEC Thursday Night Game of the Week schedule has been announced by the league office, the complete SEC television schedule will be announced as the season draws closer.
