FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball announced its 2014 schedule on Tuesday, featuring 54 games and 30 at home. The Bears will face nine 2013 NCAA Tournament participants and its 24 opponents posted a combined 811-586-1 (.580) record last season.
The highly-competitive Baylor 2014 slate also features games against nine conference champions, three NCAA Super Regional participants and only four teams that finished with a record below .500 in 2013.
The Bears begin the season in Tempe, Ariz., with a three-game set against Arizona State (NCAA Tournament) on Feb. 14-16 before beginning a six-game home stand. The stretch begins with the home opener on Feb. 18 against UT-Arlington (conference champion). BU then plays a three-game series versus Austin Peay (NCAA Tournament, conference champion) on Feb. 21-23. The stand ends with a Feb. 25 contest against Incarnate Word and Feb. 26 tussle with Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
To close February and enter March, BU travels to San Diego, Calif., to face California on Feb. 28 and March 2 and San Diego (NCAA Tournament, conference champion) on Feb. 28 and March 1.
Baylor returns home to play 11 of its 18 games in March at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears host Lamar on March 5 and Cal State Fullerton (NCAA Super Regional, conference champion) on March 7-9. After a March 11 tilt at Houston, BU returns home to face Texas Tech on March 14-16, Houston Baptist (conference champion) on March 18 and Oklahoma State (NCAA Tournament) on March 21-23.
The Bears then finish the month on the road against UT-Arlington on March 25 and West Virginia on March 28-30 at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston, W.Va., home of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Class A affiliate West Virginia Power.
BU begins April with a home game against Incarnate Word on April 1. Then, a season-long five-game road swing starts as Baylor takes on Texas on April 4-6, Sam Houston State (NCAA Tournament, conference champion) on April 8 and Dallas Baptist on April 11. A quick turnaround then has Baylor and Dallas Baptist playing in Waco on April 12-13 before the Bears host Texas Southern on April 15.
To close the month of April, Baylor travels to Kansas State (NCAA Super Regional, conference champion) for a three-game series on April 17-19, plays Texas State at home on April 22, then plays at Texas State on April 23 before hosting Kansas on April 25-27 and Sam Houston State on April 29.
In May, the Bears head to Oklahoma (NCAA Super Regional, conference champion) for a three-game set on May 2-4 before finishing the season at home against UTSA (NCAA Tournament, conference champion) on May 13 and TCU on May 15-17.
The Big 12 Championship will once again take place in Oklahoma City, Okla., at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark from May 21-25. NCAA Regionals will then be held on May 30 – June 1, Super Regionals on June 6-8 and the College World Series on June 14-25 in Omaha, Neb.
The Bears return 23 players from last year’s squad and add 14 newcomers as they are in their final week of a six-week fall practice schedule.
