FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Thirty home games, including 19 straight to open the month of March, highlight the 2013 Kansas State Baseball schedule as head coach Brad Hill announced the slate for his 10th year at the helm of the Wildcats on Thursday.
The schedule also features 14 games against NCAA Regional teams from 2012, including two in the second weekend of the year. Additionally, the Wildcats will host 12 Big 12 Conference games, including series against conference newcomers West Virginia and TCU. Kansas State will face the Mountaineers as part of its 19-game homestand, which is tied for the second longest in school history and the longest since 1982.
“Our schedule will provide a great challenge for our squad with the highly competitive number of teams we play and the layout of our schedule,” Hill said. “We open the season with consecutive weekends on the East Coast in challenging tournaments, while the schedule brings us home for a very important month of March with most of our games at Tointon Family Stadium. With 19 new players, the early homestand will be important to gain some confidence and experience before we face the challenges of the always competitive Big 12 Conference schedule.”
The 2013 season gets underway on Friday, February 15, as the Wildcats take on High Point as part of The Citadel Tournament, an event in which K-State won two of its three games to open the 2010 season. The Wildcats will take on The Citadel on Saturday, February 16, while they close out the weekend by taking on George Mason on Sunday, February 17. It will be the first meeting for the Wildcats against the Panthers and Patriots, while K-State defeated The Citadel, 2-1, in 2010, in the only meeting between the schools.
The Wildcats will immediately return to the Palmetto State the next weekend, Friday-Sunday, February 22-24, to play in Caravelle Resort’s Baseball at the Beach, hosted by 2012 NCAA Regional participant Coastal Carolina. Kansas State faces the Chanticleers to open the event on Friday before taking on Elon on Saturday and 2012 NCAA Regional squad Kentucky on Sunday. K-State also played in the event in 2011, topping 17th-ranked Coastal Carolina and Pacific, and falling to Western Kentucky and California. The event also marks the first meeting for the Wildcats against both Elon and Kentucky.
Kansas State’s home opener is slated for Friday, March 1, with the beginning of a three-game series against Oakland. After hosting Niagara on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 5 and 6, Cal Poly comes calling to Manhattan for a three-game series, Friday-Sunday, March 8-10, before the Wildcats host Northern Colorado the next week, Tuesday and Wednesday, March 12 and 13.
The Wildcats open 2013 Big 12 Conference play at home for the first time since 2010 as K-State hosts Big 12 newcomer West Virginia, Friday-Sunday, March 15-17. It will be the first-ever meeting between the Wildcats and Mountaineers.
After playing Minnesota for the third time in four years, Tuesday and Wednesday, March 19 and 20, K-State hosts its first of three 2012 NCAA Regional teams during 2013 in Bethune-Cookman, Friday-Sunday, March 22-24. It will be Kansas State’s first meeting with B-CU, a program that has earned seven-straight NCAA Regional appearances.
The Wildcats close out their homestand on Tuesday, March 26, with the first of three games during the season against Nebraska. The Huskers return to Manhattan the next week, April 2, while K-State will travel to Lincoln on April 23. Kansas State will also play two midweek games against another team from the Cornhusker State in Nebraska Omaha – April 3 in Manhattan and April 10 in Omaha.
K-State hits the road in Big 12 play for the first time in 2013 as they travel to defending Big 12 Champion Baylor, Thursday-Saturday, March 28-30. Following two home midweek games against NU and UNO, the Wildcats host Texas Tech, Friday-Sunday, April 5-7, and in-state rival Wichita State on Tuesday, April 9. The Wildcats will make the return trip to Wichita on Tuesday, April 16.
Beginning with their April 10 matchup at Nebraska Omaha, the Wildcats will play 16 of their next 19 games on the road. K-State will travel during an off weekend from Big 12 play to take on Iowa, Friday-Sunday, April 12-14. Despite the close proximity, K-State and Iowa have not met on the diamond since 1999 as the Wildcats hold a 7-6 lead in a series that began in 1979.
After its trip to Wichita, K-State will play in Stillwater against Oklahoma State, Friday-Sunday, April 19-23, prior to its trip to face the Huskers in Lincoln the following Tuesday.
The only home contests during the 19-game stretch is to face TCU, Friday-Sunday, April 26-28. The Wildcats and Horned Frogs have met just nine times – each of which have been in Fort Worth – with the last contest being a 7-6 K-State victory in 1987.
The Wildcats will trek into Nebraska one final time on Tuesday, April 30, to face Creighton at TD Ameritrade Park – home of the College World Series – in Kansas State’s final non-conference game of 2013.
Two of the final three conference series are on the road as K-State will take on Texas in Austin, Friday-Sunday, May 3-5, before the Dillon’s Sunflower Showdown the next weekend in Lawrence. The final weekend of the regular season sees K-State host 2012 Super Regional participant Oklahoma, Friday-Sunday, May 17-19.
The 2013 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship will be held Wednesday, May 22, through Sunday, May 26, at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Okla. The event will use a double-elimination format for the third-straight season.
A majority of the 30 home games in 2013 will be seen live across the globe in high-definition on K-StateHD.TV. Additionally, K-State Gameday, K-StateHD.TV’s pregame show featuring former Wildcat All-American Craig Wilson, will air 30 minutes prior to first pitch for selected home games throughout the season.
A live audio broadcast of all 56 games can be heard 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 radio and TV schedule will be announced at a later date.
2013 Kansas State Schedule (PDF)
