FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team has announced its 2013 schedule, which is highlighted by four home series against Big Ten foes Purdue, Iowa, Minnesota and Michigan State. The Nittany Lions will compete against a total of eight conference opponents this season, as well as three team’s that competed in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.Head coach Robbie Wine, who enters his ninth season at the helm of the Lions, and the squad will host 22 home games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
Penn State will open the season on the road, traveling to Johnson City, Tenn. to face East Tennessee State for a three-game series on Feb. 15-17. The Lions will then travel to Lynchburg, Va. on Feb. 22-24 for a weekend series against Liberty University.
The annual Spring Trip will take place in Texas from March 1-10. The Lions will take part in the University of Texas-San Antonio Tournament, competing against Stephen F. Austin (March 1) and the University of Nebraska-Omaha (March 3), as well as another undetermined opponent during the weekend tournament. The squad will continue on to Houston, Texas, facing Houston on March 5 and 6, followed by a weekend series against Houston Baptist (March 8-10).
Taking part in its second tournament of the season, Penn State will remain on the road to compete in the Temple Tournament. The Lions will play a double-header on March 16 and take on St. Joe’s on March 17. Making its home debut on March 20, the squad will host Akron at 6:05 p.m. at Medlar Field.
Two days later, Penn State will open up the Big Ten season when it travels to Indiana for a weekend series on March 22-24. Following a trip to Pittsburgh on March 27, the Lions will host Purdue for their first home conference series of the season on March 29-31. Heading back out on the road, the squad will face Kent State, which competed in the 2012 College World Series, on April 3.
Penn State will then have a five-game homestand, hosting Wright State for a weekend series (April 5-7), Kent State on April 9 and finally Bucknell on April 10. Michigan will be the first conference opponent of the month, with the Lions traveling to Ann Arbor, Mich. from April 12-14.
Returning home on April 17, the Lions will host the Pittsburgh Panthers before welcoming Iowa for a Big Ten weekend series (April 19-21). Penn State will have a short break in conference play, hosting La Salle and Mount St. Mary’s on April 23 and 24, respectively.
The remainder of the squad’s 2013 season will consistent mostly of Big Ten matchups, with Penn State traveling to Ohio State for a weekend series (April 26-28) before returning home to host Minnesota on May 3-5. A non-conference matchup against Akron on May 7 will prove to be a short break in Big Ten battles, as the Lions head to Illinois for a three-game series on May 10-12.
Penn State will close out the regular season at home, facing Villanova on May 14 for the final non-conference contest. The Lions will then take on Michigan State, which competed in the 2012 NCAA Tournament along with Kent State and Purdue, on May 16-18.
The 2012 Big Ten Tournament will take place on May 22-25, with Penn State looking for its first Big Ten Title in program history.
