West Hartford, Conn. – Hartford baseball coach Justin Blood announced a 53-game schedule for his fourth season at the helm of the Hawks in 2015. The schedule includes 44 dates, highlighted by eight games against NCAA Tournament teams from 2014.
“This is a challenging schedule, but one that we feel we are ready for,” said Blood. “The Duke, Virginia and BYU trips will give us an early idea of where we stand. I’m also excited about the opportunity to face off against Boston College and Bryant in non-conference series. It should be a very competitive year in the America East as well. Most importantly we have to stay focused on the next four months of class work, training and skill development.”
The first 16 games will all come on the road as the Hawks beat out the winter weather in the Northeast by traveling south and west. Hartford will open the 2015 season with an appearance in the Duke Blue Devils Tournament. The three-day event will feature single games starting on Friday, February 20.
Following the Duke Tournament, the Hawks will travel to Davenport Field in Charlottesville, Va. for two games each against Seton Hall and Virginia. The first two games of the second weekend will come on Friday, February 27 with the first against Seton Hall (12 p.m.) and the second against the Cavaliers (4 p.m.). Virginia enters the 2015 season after a trip to the NCAA College World Series, finishing as the runner-up after winning the regional and super regional events hosted in Charlottesville.
The final trip outside of the northeast will send Hartford west as they travel to Provo, Utah, for a four-game series with the BYU Cougars. The three-day series is scheduled to start on Thursday, March 5 with all games to be played at Miller Park.
Hartford’s last test before opening up America East conference play comes with a single mid-week (Wednesday, March 11) game at Central Connecticut. The Hawks will then travel Baltimore, Md., to open a 24-game league schedule against the UMBC Retrievers. Hartford is coming off of school record 31-win season that included the programs’ first trip to the America East Championship since 1996. The league opening series against UMBC is scheduled to open with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 14
With a seven-team America East Conference, Hartford will meet Maine and UMBC twice, playing a three-game series on each squad’s home field. After opening league play at UMBC, the Hawks will welcome Maine to Fiondella Field for the home opening series on March 21 and 22. The Hawks and Black Bears are scheduled to open with a doubleheader on Saturday with first pitch set for 12 p.m. The Hawks will then travel to Maine on April 18-19 and host the Retrievers at Fiondella Field for the final regular season series on May 15-16.
In addition to Virginia, the Hawks will also face the Bryant Bulldogs who are fresh off of an NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the Northeast Conference title in 2014. The Hawks and Bulldogs are scheduled for a three-game series over the weekend of March 28-29. The final NCAA Tournament team that Hartford will face in the regular season is the reigning America East Champion Binghamton Bearcats. Hartford will host Binghamton for a three-game set that is scheduled for April 11-12.
Other than Maine, Binghamton and UMBC, the only other league opponent to visit Fiondella Field will be the newest member of the league, the UMass Lowell River Hawks. Hartford and UMass Lowell will its regular season series with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 25 followed by a single game on Sunday, April 26. Both days are scheduled for 12 p.m. starts.
After making its first appearance in 18 seasons in the America East Championship, the Hawks will battle for one of four spots in the 2015 tournament. The double-elimination event is scheduled for May 21-23 and will be held at LeLacheur Park in Lowell. Mass., the home field of the Boston Red Sox Single A affiliate Lowell Spinners.
