VILLANOVA, Pa.–Head coach Joe Godri, who begins his 14th year leading the Wildcats, announced his team’s schedule for the upcoming 2015 season on Tuesday afternoon. Villanova will play at least 24 home games during the regular season, with the 55-game schedule highlighted by six consecutive home weekends in March and April.
A large non-conference slate (37 games) gives the Wildcats a chance to face strong competition from around the country while taking the field against both traditional rivals and brand new opponents. When the calendar turns to the beginning of conference play, Villanova will play 18 regular season BIG EAST games and vie for one of four spots in the postseason conference tournament.
The earliest season opener in the 150-year history of Wildcats baseball takes place on February 13, while the home opener at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth will be exactly one month later. Villanova hosts the Big Five Baseball Bash (March 13-15) as well as three-game series against Binghamton (March 20-22) and Hofstra (March 27-29) before later playing its first two BIG EAST series at home against Georgetown (April 10-12) and Xavier (April 17-19).
During the opening weekend of the season, the Wildcats will travel to North Carolina State from February 13-15, with the season opener against the host Wolfpack on February 13 to be followed by neutral-site games against Appalachian State and Davidson over the next two days.
The marquis trip of the non-conference schedule is to San Antonio, Texas from February 20-22. Villanova will play in the Irish Baseball Classic hosted by Notre Dame at Wolff Stadium, which is the home of the Double-A San Antonio Missions in the San Diego Padres organization. On February 20 the Wildcats face both Northwestern and Notre Dame, while a contest against Incarnate Word awaits the next day.
Villanova will also be participating in the Snowbird Baseball Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla. for the fourth straight season. The team’s trip to the Sunshine State spans both the beginning and ending weekends of Spring Break, with the Wildcats due to play seven games during the trip. The slate of games in Florida includes former BIG EAST rival Boston College (March 2) and nationally-ranked Big Ten foe Indiana (March 6), the latter of which Villanova memorably knocked off in the BIG EAST-Big Ten Challenge five years ago.
Another fan favorite on the schedule each year is the Liberty Bell Classic, which pits local Philadelphia teams against each other leading up to a championship game at Citizens Bank Park in mid-April. The Wildcats host Lafayette on March 31 in a Liberty Bell quarterfinal game, with the winner of that contest facing either Penn or Saint Joseph’s in a semifinal game on April 7.
The top four teams in the BIG EAST standings at the end of conference play will qualify for the conference championship, which will be played at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, which is the site of the College World Series. The BIG EAST tournament runs from May 21-24 and will be jointly hosted by the conference and Creighton.
After hosting its first two conference series in mid-April, Villanova plays its next two series on the road at St. John’s (April 24-26) and Butler (May 1-3). The final two series of the regular season are at home versus Seton Hall (May 8-10) and on the road at Creighton (May 14-16).
The 2015 campaign marks the 150th season of Wildcats baseball. Villanova began play in 1866 and has an all-time record of 1,849-1,384-29 (.571).
2015 Villanova Baseball Schedule
