FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. — New University of Maryland Eastern Shore head coach Pedro Swann has announced the 2013 schedule. The Hawks will play 52 regular season games with a full conference slate and contests against local rivals.
UMES will play 26 games at home at Hawks Stadium, including four Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference series and a home tournament in March. Along with their MEAC North opponents, the Hawks will play Georgetown, Navy, Cornell among others in Princess Anne this season.
First pitch for the Hawks will be on Friday, February 15th when UMES heads to Rock Hill, South Carolina to take on Winthrop for a three-game set. The Friday game starts at 4:00 p.m., followed by a 3:00 p.m. Saturday contest and a 1:00 p.m. Sunday matinee.
The next weekend, UMES will play in a tournament in Lexington, Virginia, hosted by the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). The Maroon and Gray start with Buffalo on Friday, February 22nd at 12:30 p.m., then VMI the next day at the same time. Then on Sunday, UMES plays both schools, Buffalo at 12:30 p.m. and VMI at 4:00 p.m., to finish the invitational.
UMES will play 18 of its next 19 games in Princess Anne, opening up at home on Tuesday, February 26th against Lehigh for a doubleheader beginning at noon. Attendance to these contests and all other home games at Hawks Stadium is free of charge to all fans.
In the opening weekend of March, UMES will host its own tournament at Hawks Stadium, welcoming Cornell and St. Peter’s to the Eastern Shore. The Hawks open with Cornell on Friday, March 1st at noon, taking on St. Peter’s the next day at noon as well. UMES commences with a pair of games on Sunday to finish the tournament, playing Cornell at noon and St. Peter’s at 3:30 p.m.
The Hawks return to Virginia for a mid-week contest against George Washington in Arlington on Wednesday, March 6th at 3:00 p.m.
The team returns home that weekend for a pair of noon doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, taking on Lafayette for the first time since 2009.
Conference play begins on Saturday, March 16th when UMES takes on MEAC in-state rival Coppin State with a twinbill starting at noon at Hawks Stadium. The series finishes up with a single game on the following Sunday at noon.
On Wednesday, March 20th, the Hawks host Big East institution Georgetown in Princess Anne at 3:00 p.m., playing the Hoyas for the first time since 2000.
The second MEAC series for UMES will start on Saturday, March 23rd when the Hawks host the Spartans of Norfolk State for a pair of games starting at noon. The series concludes with a noon matinee on Sunday, March 24th.
UMES’s long homestand concludes on Tuesday, March 26th with a mid-week contest against George Washington at 3:00 p.m.
The following day, the Hawks head north to the state capital of Annapolis to play the Navy at 3:00 p.m.
On Friday, March 29th, UMES will head up Route-13 to Dover to take on arch-rival Delaware State, Coach Swann’s alma mater, for the first of three series between the two schools this season. The two teams play a single game on Friday at 1:00 p.m. and a Saturday doubleheader at 1:00 p.m.
The Hawks will play a pair of mid-week games to begin the month of April. On Wednesday, April 3rd, UMES faces in-state rival UMBC for a 3:00 p.m., playing for the first time in over 25 years, last playing in 1987. The next day, the Hawks head back to Delaware to play Wilmington University for a single game.
UMES returns to MEAC action that weekend with a second series against Coppin State, heading across the Bay Bridge to play in Glen Burnie. UMES will play a doubleheader on Saturday and one game on Sunday with times to be announced.
Taking on another in-state team, the Hawks take on Towson on Tuesday, April 9th at 3:30 p.m.
The next weekend, UMES goes across the Bay Bridge-Tunnel to take on Norfolk State again, this time at the site of the MEAC Tournament. The two squads will play a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 13th, followed by a Sunday matchup at noon.
The Hawks will get ready for their final homestand of the year, playing the next seven games in Princess Anne. They will start with a mid-week rematch against Navy on Tuesday, April 16th at 3 p.m.
Then on April 20th and 21st, UMES will face Delaware State in MEAC competition. Game times are set for noon on both days, with a timebill scheduled for Saturday and a single game on Sunday.
The final chance to see the Hawks at home will be the next weekend when UMES hosts Coppin State. The Hawks and Eagles play twice on Saturday, April 27th at noon and will have Senior Day on Sunday, April 28th at noon.
To finish the month of April, UMES heads to Bethesda to take on Georgetown again for a game under the lights at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30th.
UMES plays a set against Delaware State for the third time on the opening weekend of May, taking on the Hornets in Dover for a Saturday doubleheader at 1:00 p.m., finishing with a Sunday contest a 1 p.m.
The Hawks will finish the regular season with a pair of mid-week games. UMES takes on George Mason in Fairfax, Virginia on Tuesday, May 7th at 4:00 p.m., following with a rematch against UMBC in Catonsville at 7:00 p.m.
The MEAC Tournament will be held at Marty L. Miller Field in Norfolk, Virginia, from May 14th through the 18th. UMES had its highest finish in the MEAC Tournament since 2006 last season, earning third place with victories over North Carolina Central and Delaware State.
