FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Following a 2013 campaign which saw UAPB improve their win total by 13 games, plus make their first SWAC Tournament appearance since 2009, UAPB Head Coach Carlos James unveiled the program’s 2014 schedule on Thursday.
This year’s schedule is highlighted by 24 games at the Torii Hunter Baseball Complex, which include non-conference matchups against Incarnate Word, Arkansas-Little Rock, Central Arkansas. The schedule also includes an away series at perennial powers Oklahoma and Tulane plus the Tiger Classic at Auburn against AU, California, and East Tennessee State.
“I am very excited about our schedule this upcoming season,” said James. “It continues with our goal and tradition of playing the best out-of-conference competition we can, and I especially like that our fans will have the opportunity to see our team at home more than years past.”
“As always, we will be challenged by our competition right from the start with Tulane then having to travel to Oklahoma for a two-game series before heading to the Tigers Classic to play Auburn, Cal, and East Tennessee State,” James continued. “Following our Opening Week, we get into conference play against a competitive Western Division and follow it up throughout the year against the likes of UALR, UCA, Ole Miss, and Texas Tech to name a few.”
“We will also be challenged by our two home series with the University of Incarnate Word and ACC addition Pittsburgh visiting Pine Bluff,” noted James.
The Golden Lions open their fourth season under James with a 9-game road trip before hosting their first conference series against Prairie View A&M the weekend of February 28.
After playing their lone home series in the month of February, the Golden Lions will hit the road again traveling to Southeast Missouri for a two-game series (March 4-5) then head to Southern (Mar. 7-9) and UALR (Mar. 12).
Beginning the weekend of March 14, UAPB will play eight out of their next nine games at home against opponents Grambling, UCA, and Incarnate Word.
Over Spring Break, the Golden Lions will make their first trip to Lubbock, TX to take on Big 12 member Texas Tech (Mar. 25-26) before returning home to play Texas Southern (Mar. 29-30).
After the completion of the first-half of conference play, the Golden Lions will visit Oxford, MS and play SEC member Ole Miss (Apr. 2) then head to Prairie View A&M to kick-off the second-half of conference play. Following a mid-week game at home versus Lyon College (Apr. 8), Southern University will visit the Torii Hunter Baseball Complex the weekend of Apr. 11.
The Golden Lions travel to Ruston (LA) to take on Grambling (Apr. 19-20), before hosting UALR for a single game on April 22. Later that week, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) member Pittsburgh will make its first trip to Pine Bluff with a doubleheader on Sunday, April 27, followed by a single-game on Monday, April 28, at Taylor Field.
Bookending the series with Pitt, UAPB and Alcorn will play a home-and-home with the Golden Lions concluding their regular season play at Texas Southern in Houston from May 2-4.
The 2014 SWAC Tournament, which features the league’s top eight finishers in the regular season, is set for May 14-18 at LeGrave Field in Fort Worth, Texas. NCAA Regional action takes place, May 30-June 2, followed by NCAA Super Regional play, June 6-9.
The NCAA College World Series returns to TD Ameritrade Park in downtown Omaha, Neb., for the fourth time, June 14-25.
Home game times at Delta Natural Kraft Field at the Torii Hunter Baseball Complex are tentatively set, but subject to change. Season ticket information and the full slate of game times will be released at a later date.
Fall practice for the Golden Lions concludes this weekend with Saturday’s intrasquad open to the public for viewing.
