FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
ST. LOUIS – Reigning Atlantic 10 Conference baseball regular season and tournament champion Saint Louis has released its 2014 slate of games. The Billikens will play prominent teams such as Alabama, Duke, Stony Brook and Wake Forest before hosting the 2014 Atlantic 10 Conference Championship at the Billiken Sports Center.
“The 2014 schedule is the toughest we’ve encountered since I’ve been at SLU,” Saint Louis head coach Darin Hendrickson said. “We have a great non-conference start with SEC power Alabama, a very good Memphis team and two great tourneys at ACC teams Duke and Wake Forest. We also have a very tough travel schedule in Atlantic 10 play, playing Rhode Island, Massachusetts and George Mason on the road. It will be a great challenge for our guys and our program.”
The Bills open the year on Feb. 14-16 with a three-game series against 2013 NCAA Tournament participant Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide return 21 players, including five position starters.
Saint Louis will then travel to Durham, N.C., on Feb. 21-23 for a four-team tournament at Duke. The field will feature the Billikens, the Blue Devils, Akron and La Salle. Duke returns 24 from its 2013 squad, including two All-ACC selections and all three pitchers from the weekend rotation.
On Feb. 28 through March 2, SLU will take part in a tournament in Winston-Salem, N.C., hosted by Wake Forest. The Bills play the Demon Deacons, Saint Peter’s and 2012 College World Series participant Stony Brook.
The Billikens open their home schedule with a 10-game homestand. They kick things off on March 4 and 5 with a two-game series against Murray State. The following weekend, March 7-9, Saint Louis hosts North Dakota for four contests at the Billiken Sports Center. Last season, the Bills played UND one time – a 12-0 win for SLU in Sauget, Ill. Missouri Valley Conference foe Bradley travels to St. Louis on March 12 for a mid-week game. Following that, the Billikens wrap up the homestand with a three-game series against the Tigers of Memphis on March 14-16.
Saint Louis returns to the road on March 18 to take on intrastate rival Southeast Missouri State. The Billikens have won four consecutive contests against the Redhawks dating to 2012.
The Bills open the Atlantic 10 schedule with a road trip to Rhode Island on March 21-23. On the return trip, SLU will stop at Eastern Illinois on Mar. 25 for a mid-week showdown.
The Billikens host George Washington at the Billiken Sports Center on March 28-30 to wrap up the month of March.
To open April, the Bills travel to Missouri State for a mid-week game on April 1. They follow that trip with a three-game weekend series at St. Bonaventure on April 4-6. SLU then faces SIUE at home on April 8. On April 11-13, the Billikens travel to Amherst, Mass. to battle Massachusetts. The Redhawks of SEMO pay a return trip to the Billiken Sports Center on April 15. SLU will then host Richmond on April 17-19 before traveling to Tennessee-Martin on April 22. The Billikens take on A-10 newcomer George Mason in Fairfax, Va., on April 25-27. Saint Louis finishes April by hosting Eastern Illinois on April 29.
The Billikens will take on Atlantic 10 rival Dayton on May 2-4 at home. They then jump across the Mississippi River May 7 for a mid-week game at SIUE. SLU will wrap up its home schedule on May 9-11 with three games against Fordham. Saint Louis will play Southern Illinois at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Ill., on May 13. The 2014 regular season concludes on May 15-17 when SLU heads to La Salle.
On May 21-25, Saint Louis will host the 2014 Atlantic 10 Conference Championship at the Billiken Sports Center.
