UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – University of Richmond head baseball coach Tracy Woodson announced the Spiders’ 2015 schedule on Thursday.
The 57-game slate features 29 home games at Pitt Field, as well as eight contests against NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago. The difficult, non-conference slate features games against teams from the ACC, the AAC, the Big Ten, the Ivy League and the Big South.
“We’re excited about the schedule that we put together for this season,” Woodson remarked. “The one thing I said when I came to Richmond was that we needed to upgrade the schedule and put teams on there that will help our RPI and I think we’ve done just that. I think the three early season tournaments – going to Coastal Carolina, the Irish Classic and Davidson – along with hosting Minnesota for two games really highlight the schedule.”
The season gets underway on February 13-15 when the team heads to Coastal Carolina to play in the Caravelle Resort’s Baseball at the Beach Tournament. Unlike previous seasons, Richmond will have the bulk of its early schedule on the road, playing 12 of their first 17 games away from Pitt Field.
The Spiders open with Coastal Carolina before playing two games on February 14 against Western Kentucky and Canisius. UR ends the tournament with a game versus Maryland on February 15.
Richmond opens the home portion of its schedule against in-state rival and 2014 NCAA Tournament team Liberty on February 17, before hosting Holy Cross for a three-game, weekend set on February 20-22.
The following weekend, the team will travel to Cary, North Carolina to play in the USA Baseball-Irish Classic. UR opens the tournament against Seattle on February 27 and then plays Iowa the next day. The Spiders end the weekend with a game against East Carolina on March 1.
After hosting Longwood at Pitt Field on March 4, the Spiders will play in their final regular season tournament of the season at Davidson. The team will face Presbyterian twice (March 6 and 8) and Yale on March 7.
On March 10, the team will travel north to play UMBC before playing Big Ten foe Maryland for the second time on the year on March 11.
From March 13-31, the Spiders will play 13-straight games at the friendly confines of Pitt Field in Richmond. After a three-game series with Penn from March 13-15, the Spiders will host the Big Ten’s Minnesota Golden Gophers for two, midweek games on March 17-18.
Atlantic 10 conference play begins on March 20-22, when Richmond will play host to George Mason at Pitt Field. Along with the Patriots, the Spiders will host A-10 rivals Fordham (March 27-29), Rhode Island (April 17-19) and Dayton (May 8-10).
On the road, the Spiders will face league foes St. Bonaventure (April 2-4), La Salle (April 24-26), Massachusetts (May 1-3) and Davidson (May 14-16).
“I think the schedule that we put together early in the season is really going to help us,” Woodson said. “The tougher teams you play out of conference, the easier it is to be ready for league play and make sure no one surprises you.”
With conference play starting, the Spiders will only face 11 non-conference opponents after March 20. After playing in-state rival William & Mary on March 24 in Richmond, the team will host Cornell to Pitt Field one week later on March 31.
After hosting Norfolk State on April 7, the team will head south to face the ACC’s Duke Blue Devils on April 8. One week later, UR will host James Madison on April 14 before a road game against VMI on April 15.
The final two non-conference games of the year will be difficult, as Richmond heads to Norfolk to play reigning CAA champion Old Dominion on April 22. On May 12, the team will head to Charlottesville to play last year’s College World Series finalist Virginia.
The Spiders will be looking for their fifth-straight berth to the Atlantic 10 Tournament this season, which will be hosted by George Washington from May 20-23.
