WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Monmouth University’s baseball team and head coach Dean Ehehalt have announced the 2016 schedule consisting of 55 games and 20 home contests. Monmouth finished last season with a record of 22-24 and 14-10 in conference.
“Our 2016 schedule is very challenging,” said head coach Dean Ehehalt. “We have always looked at our pre-conference portion of our schedule as a means to prepare us for the rigors of conference play. This season is no different as we play some very solid opponents as well our first 18 games away.”
Monmouth opens the 2016 season with a trip to Cary, North Carolina to compete in the USA Baseball Tournament, which will take place from February 19-21. The Hawks start the season on 2/19 against Penn State followed by matchups with former NEC-foe Bryant and Army West Point.
The next weekend, Coach Ehehalt’s team will play three games in the Wofford Tournament from February 26-28. MU opens with a contest against UNC-Asheville followed by games against USC Upstate and Evansville in Spartanburg, SC.
Monmouth visits against last year’s national champion, Virginia from March 4-6, marking the third time in five years that the Hawks will take on the Cavaliers.
Monmouth continues the early-season non-conference slate with a three-game set at George Washington, whom the Hawks last traveled to in 2014. Following the trip to the nation’s capital, MU will have series against teams they played last year in James Madison, Virginia Commonwealth, and East Carolina. The pre-conference schedule finishes with a single game at Hofstra on March 23.
Coach Ehehalt’s squad opens MAAC play with a home series against in-state rival Rider on March 25, with the home opener Friday before a doubleheader on Saturday. MU then battles New Jersey-rival Rutgers in a home-and-home series on March 29 and 30.
Monmouth opens April with weekend conference trips to Manhattan and Saint Peter’s, a pair of teams the Hawks combined to go 5-1 against in 2015. MU returns home on April 16 for three games with Siena before closing April with another pair of road weekends. The Hawks visit Marist, a team MU swept the last time they met in the regular season in 2014, before heading to Quinnipiac on April 30.
The Hawks complete the season with 11 home games in May, including series vs. Iona on May 7 and Fairfield on May 14. In between, Stetson visits West Long Branch on May 9 for a midweek matchup. Coach Ehehalt’s team finishes their schedule with a non-conference series at home against UMass Lowell on May 20.
“Our challenges and opportunities early in the season should help us mold a fairly young team as well as get us ready for our MAAC play,” added Ehehalt. “The MAAC presents many fine teams and is continually improving.”
Manhattan College will again host the MAAC Tournament at Duchess Stadium in Fishkill, N.Y. The stadium is home to the Hudson Valley Renegades of the New York Penn League, the single-A short season affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The tournament begins on May 25 and concludes on May 29. The full 2016 schedule can be found at MonmouthHawks.com.
2016 Monmouth Baseball Schedule
