FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
DAVIS, Calif. — Contests against four NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago highlight a 55-game slate for the UC Davis baseball team as the Aggies announced their 2014 schedule on Wednesday.
“I like the schedule this year,” Head Coach Matt Vaughn said. “Division I Baseball on the West Coast is always going to be challenging and it will be fun with some new teams on the schedule. We return a trip to Washington early in the season, and go to Gonzaga in early May, also adding Kansas State and New Mexico State as new opponents.”
For the fifth-consecutive season, UC Davis will open at home with a four-game set against Seattle University beginning on Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. at Dobbins Stadium — the first of 25 home dates for the Aggies this season. A doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday completes the opening weekend before UC Davis heads out for 12 consecutive contests away from the friendly confines, including the four-team Gael Invitational hosted by Saint Mary’s in Moraga, Calif., on Feb. 20-23, and five games against Pac-12 power Washington (four in Seattle, the other at Santa Clara).
The Gael Invitational features NCAA qualifier Kansas State (which advanced to the super regionals before falling to No. 3 national seed Oregon State), the University of Portland, the Aggies, and the host Gaels.
UC Davis returns home on March 11 to host San Jose State and kick-off a six-game home stand, including a four-game set against New Mexico State on March 14-16 and a mid-week clash with Nevada (March 25), before opening Big West Conference play on the road against NCAA Tournament qualifier Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif., on March 28-30.
“The Big West is one of the best baseball conferences in the country, every school in our conference is capable of going to the next step and beyond,” Vaughn said. “Starting the season on the road with Cal Poly and Cal State Fullerton, two playoff teams from last year, will test us early. The whole Big West schedule will be a great opportunity and challenge for Aggie baseball.”
Following a mid-week game against Saint Mary’s, the road for Aggies will not get any easier as they head to four-time defending Big West champion and perennial power Cal State Fullerton for a three-game series on April 4-6 and battle Bay Area rival Stanford in a single contest in Palo Alto, calif., on April 8. The Titans advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals before being ousted from the postseason by eventual NCAA National Champion UCLA.
Other Big West Conference home series include Long Beach State (April 11-13), UC Irvine (April 25-27), Hawaii (May 16-18), and NCAA Tournament qualifier UC Santa Barbara (May 22-24) to close out the regular season. UC Davis will also host single games against Causeway rival Sacramento State (April 15), Saint Mary’s (April 22).
NCAA postseason play begins on May 30 with the regionals and continues on June 6-9 with the super regional round at campus sites around the country. The 2014 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb., will begin on June 14 and run through June 25.
