GREENVILLE, S.C. — Eight games at Fluor Field, including clashes against both South Carolina and Clemson, and 41 contests within the Palmetto state highlight Furman’s 2015 baseball schedule, which was released today by Paladin head coach Ron Smith.
Furman will play South Carolina on Apr. 21 and Clemson on May 12 at Fluor Field, part of a 29-game home schedule that features three contests in the First Pitch Invitational versus Xavier (Feb. 20), Indiana (Feb. 21), and Presbyterian (Feb. 22), as well as clashes against Connecticut (Mar. 13) and Michigan State (Mar. 14) at the beautiful downtown facility, which serves as the home of the Boston Red Sox Single A South Atlantic League affiliate Greenville Drive.
The Paladins will also face USC Upstate at Fluor Field (Mar. 15) in a home game for the Spartans.
Furman is scheduled to play six of its first seven games at home, highlighted by a three-game, season opening series against Akron (Feb. 13-15) at Latham Stadium on campus.
South Carolina (Feb. 17) will provide Furman its first road test of 2015.
The Paladins will take on Maryland-Eastern Shore (Feb. 27) and also square off against Miami of Ohio (Feb. 28) and host Campbell (Mar. 1) in a three-game set at Buies Creek, N.C.
Furman plays Georgia (Mar. 3) in Athens before battling Marist (Mar. 6-8) in a three-game home series.
A three-game set at Samford (Mar. 20-22) opens Southern Conference play for the Paladins, who return home the following weekend to face league newcomer Mercer (Mar. 27-29).
VMI (Apr. 3-4), which rejoined the SoCon this year following a 10-year hiatus for the league, will provide the opposition the following weekend, with Saturday, April 4 featuring a doubleheader in advance of Easter Sunday.
Furman will also play host to new SoCon member East Tennessee State (May 1-3) following the Buccaneers’ return to the conference.
The Paladins face a stern test in a three-game series at the College of Charleston (Apr. 24-26), the former SoCon power that is coming off a Colonial Athletic Association championship and NCAA Super Regional appearance last spring.
Furman wraps up the regular season versus arch-rival The Citadel (May 14-16) at Latham Stadium.
The 2015 SoCon Tournament (May 19-24) is scheduled to be played at Charleston’s Joseph P. Riley Park.
Six 2015 Furman foes — South Carolina, Clemson, Xavier, Indiana, Campbell, and College of Charleston — competed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
Furman posted a 26-33 overall record a year ago. Among the season’s highlights were a series road win at eventual SoCon regular season champion Western Carolina, a series sweep of Elon, and consecutive SoCon Tournament victories over UNC Greensboro, Western Carolina, and Appalachian State that propelled the Paladins into the semifinals.
Two Paladin right-handed pitchers were selected in the 2014 MLB Draft, including Jacques de Gruy (4-4, 5.61 ERA, who was taken in the 26th round by the Philadelphia Phillies, and Tyler Wood (5-2, 4.73 ERA), a 37th round pick of the San Diego Padres.
Among the Paladins’ top returnees are senior right-handed pitcher Matt Solter (3-5, 3.90 ERA), senior All-SoCon third baseman Chris Ohmstede (.318, 10 HR, 47 RBI), senior outfielder Jake Jones (.309, 2 HR, 23 RBI), sophomore outfielder Carter Grote (.333, 1 HR, 14 RBI), and Jordan Simpson (.295, 5 HR, 35 RBI), a junior second baseman.
The second oldest sport (1891) sponsored by Furman University, baseball is the SoCon’s highest rated sport by RPI, posting a No. 13 ranking in 2014 among the 32 conferences that comprise Division I.
Ron Smith is entering his 22nd year as head baseball coach at his alma mater.
