SAN ANTONIO — Head baseball coach Jason Marshall announced the schedule for the upcoming 2015 season on Tuesday. The slate will be highlighted by two home non-conference series against Louisiana-Lafayette and UC Irvine, 17 contests against NCAA Regional participants and a competitive, 30-game Conference USA schedule.
The Roadrunners, 35-26 overall and 16-14 in conference play last spring, are set to play 17 games against seven teams (Bryant/Louisiana-Lafayette/Old Dominion/Rice/Texas/Texas A&M/UC Irvine) that earned regional berths a year ago, including two that made their way to the College World Series (Texas/UC Irvine).
“We are definitely stepping it up a notch when you look at our schedules the past couple years,” Marshall said of this year’s schedule. “This season will be our most challenging schedule we’ve put together. If we can maneuver our way through the first few weeks and get some wins, then we should walk into conference play with a breath of fresh air.”
There are 31 home games and 24 road tilts that make up the schedule.
UTSA will open up at the friendly confines of the Bird Bath from Feb. 13-15 against Louisiana-Lafayette.
The Roadrunners then will hit the road to face Texas in a midweek contest on Feb. 17.
UTSA will return to Roadrunner Field for a weekend three-game set against Bryant from Feb. 20-22 before hosting Incarnate Word on Feb. 24. UIW will make a second trip to the Bird Bath on March 25.
The Roadrunners will close out the month of February on the road when they meet up with former Southland Conference foe McNeese State from Feb. 27-March 1. UTSA then will square off with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on March 3 in the first game of a home-and-home series. The Islanders will return the trip to San Antonio on April 21.
UC Irvine will visit the Alamo City for a three-game set from March 6-8 and that will be followed by a midweek visit from Houston Baptist on March 10, which also is part of a home-and-home series. UTSA will return the trip to the Bayou City on April 7.
A three-game road series at Marshall will open up the second season of Conference USA play for UTSA. League teams will play 10, three-game series throughout the spring, which means one opponent will not be faced.
“There is an advantage and disadvantage to not playing one team during the conference season, depending on who you draw in a certain year,” Marshall said. “I would rather play everyone because it’s fair and makes things equitable.”
UTSA will host new C-USA member Western Kentucky from March 20-22 before hosting Texas A&M at Wolff Stadium in non-conference action on March 24.
The Roadrunners also will host Florida Atlantic (March 27-29), Old Dominion (April 10-12), Southern Miss (April 24-26) and Middle Tennessee (May 8-10) in conference play.
Meanwhile, UTSA will face FIU (April 3-5), Rice (April 17-19), Louisiana Tech (May 1-3) and Charlotte (May 14-16) on the road.
2015 UTSA Baseball Schedule
Other non-conference contests for the Roadrunners include three individual games against I-35 rival Texas State (March 17 & 31/April 14) and a home-and-home series against Baylor (April 28/May 12).
“The Texas State series always matters because it’s a fun rivalry that’s healthy for both programs,” Marshall said.
The C-USA Tournament is scheduled for May 20-24 at a location to be determined at a later date.
