FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
CINCINNATI – Head Coach Ty Neal and the University of Cincinnati baseball team announced their 2014 season schedule on Monday. The slate will feature 25 home games for the Bearcats as well as six opponents that participated in the 2013 NCAA tournament.
The Bearcats will be playing their first season as part of the new American Athletic Conference. Joining Cincinnati in the American is UCF, Connecticut, Houston, Louisville, Memphis, Rutgers, USF and Temple. Eight of the league’s nine teams will qualify for the American Athletic Conference championship. The tournament will run from May 21-25, 2014 at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla.
“We are excited about the 2014 season” said Coach Neal. “This team has been working hard and we are ready to finally see a different color jersey. We feel very fortunate to join the American Athletic Conference. The structure of the American schedule, combined with our geographic location, allows us to play a very competitive schedule that will prepare us for the postseason. The bonus to this is that Marge Schott Stadium provides an opportunity for schools to come to us and play in a first-class facility.”
UC will open the 2014 campaign Feb. 14-16 in Elon, N. C. The Bearcats will play three games against Elon University, the 2013 Southern Conference champions and a 2013 NCAA regional participant. The following weekend, Cincinnati will travel to Winston-Salem, N.C., for the Wake Forest Tournament which runs from Feb. 21 through Feb. 23. UC will face Wake Forest, Radford and Missouri in three games at the tournament.
The Bearcats then will travel to Blacksburg, Va., for the Virginia Tech Tournament Feb. 28 – March 2. UC will play two games apiece against the host Virginia Tech and UMass-Lowell. The Hokies of VT finished the 2013 season with a 40-22 record and earned a No. 16 national ranking to close the season after hosting NCAA regional action.
Marge Schott Stadium will host its first action of the season on March 4 when the Bearcats welcome the University of Kentucky at 4 p.m. The Wildcats will return the favor when UC travels to Lexington, Ky. For a return trip against UK on March 5.
The sixth installment of the annual Joe Nuxhall Classic will be played at Miami (Ohio) in Oxford, Ohio in April. The tournament will feature Cincinnati, Miami, Wright State and Xavier University. The Bearcats will meet the WSU Raiders on April 8 and will face either MU or XU on April 9.
A trip to Columbus to face in-state foe Ohio State University on May 13 precedes a big rivalry matchup against the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky., May 15-17. The Cardinals were a 2013 College World Series participant, but lost in the opening round to Indiana University and then-assistant coach Ty Neal, before Coach Neal took the head coaching position at UC in June.
Other 2013 NCAA tournament participants appearing on the Bearcats’ schedule include Bowling Green State, Connecticut and Army.
The American Athletic Conference Championship will be held May 21-25 at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla., with the winner earning the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Championship.
