LAKE CHARLES – Thirty-four home games and nine contests against NCAA Tournament teams are among the many highlights on a competitive 2015 McNeese baseball schedule as announced by head coach Justin Hill on Wednesday.
The Cowboys, who finished the 2014 season with 30 wins and a third place finish in the Southland Conference Tournament, will go head-to-head against five NCAA Tournament teams from last season, including two that advanced to the NCAA Super Regional round.
“This year’s schedule is another step in the right direction,” said Hill. “We have quite a few more home games this year which will be good not only for our fans, but also our players. Playing at home not only helps from a home-field advantage standpoint because our kids won’t have to miss as much class due to constant travel.”
For the third consecutive season, the Cowboys open the season at home with eight consecutive games scheduled including the season opening series against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Feb. 13-15. McNeese will face Louisiana Tech in a two-game mid-week series on Feb. 17-18 before finishing up its home stand with a weekend series against Bradley on Feb. 20-22.
The Cowboy’s first road trip will take place right down the road at Louisiana-Lafayette, who reached the NCAA Super Regionals last season, on February 24. The Cajuns are set for a return trip to Cowboy Diamond on March 24.
Also included in the non-conference schedule is the annual in-state clash between McNeese and perennial college baseball power LSU on March 11. The Tigers finished the 2014 baseball season with a 46-14-1 record while capturing the SEC Baseball Tournament title.
Other key non-conference games include a mid-week contest at Sam Houston State (March 3), a home weekend series against UTSA (Feb. 27-March 1), a home contest against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (March 16), and a home-and-home with NCAA Super Regional opponent Houston (April 21 in Lake Charles; May 5 in Houston)
“There will be some familiar names in our very challenging non-conference and midweek portion of our schedule,” said Hill.
McNeese opens conference play at Houston Baptist (March 6-8) as one of five series played on the road against SLC foes. Other road SLC series include games at Abilene Christian (March 20-22), at Northwestern State (March 27-29), Southeastern Louisiana (April 17-19) and at Central Arkansas (May 14-16).
McNeese will also host five SLC series, including games against Incarnate Word (March 13-15), New Orleans (April 2-4), Lamar (April 10-12), Nicholls (April 24-26) and Stephen F. Austin (May 1-3).
The Southland Conference Baseball Championship is set to make its return to Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas on May 20-23.
2015 McNeese State Baseball Schedule
