The South Dakota State University baseball team will play a challenging non-conference schedule and is scheduled to host 22 games at Erv Huether Field during the upcoming 2016 season.
“I feel this is the most difficult and challenging non-conference schedule that we have played in the past five years,” SDSU head coach Dave Schrage said. “This schedule will really prepare us for Summit League competition and I know our players are looking forward to the challenge.”
The Jackrabbits, 33-23 overall last season, will play games in all four continental United States time zones during the non-conference season, starting with four games Feb. 19-21 in Starkville, Mississippi. SDSU is slated to play two games each against Florida Atlantic (Feb. 19, 21) and host Mississippi State (Feb. 20, 21). Florida Atlantic competed in the NCAA Tournament last season.
Two more NCAA Tournament teams will be on the schedule the next weekend as the Jackrabbits meet UNC-Wilmington (Feb. 26) and Virginia Commonwealth (Feb. 27) in Wilmington, North Carolina. VCU advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals during the 2015 campaign. SDSU also will play two games against Eastern Kentucky (Feb. 27, 28) to close out the weekend.
The Jackrabbits will travel west for their Spring Break trip in 2016, playing six games in California before wrapping up the trip with a three-game series at Northern Colorado. SDSU is scheduled to play a four-game series at Sacramento State March 4-6, followed by single games March 8 at Pacific University and March 9 at UC Davis. The three-game set at Northern Colorado is slated for March 11-13.
Summit League play begins March 18, when the Jackrabbits open a three-game series in Tulsa, Oklahoma, against defending league champion Oral Roberts.
After playing its first 22 games on the road, SDSU’s home opener is scheduled for March 30, when the Jackrabbits host Dakota Wesleyan in a doubleheader at Erv Huether Field. The Jackrabbits’ first home Summit League contests are slated for April 8-10 against Omaha.
The Summit League schedule will again consist of a home-and-home, round-robin format of 30 games. SDSU also will host home league series against North Dakota State (April 15-17), Western Illinois (April 29-May 1), Fort Wayne (May 6-8) and Oral Roberts (May 13-15).
The remainder of SDSU’s home schedule will be made up of mid-week games against North Dakota (April 6-DH), Mayville State (N.D.) (April 20), Dakota State (April 27) and Minnesota (May 17).
Mid-week road games include contests at Minnesota (April 12), Creighton (April 13) and North Dakota (May 11-DH).
Oral Roberts will host the Summit League Baseball Championship May 25-28. The top four teams in the regular season standings will advance to the double-elimination tournament in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
2016 South Dakota State Schedule
