WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary head baseball coach Brian Murphy announced the 2017 schedule on Friday morning. Twenty-six home games at Plumeri Park, four opponents who appeared in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, and a trip to the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, N.C. highlight the 2017 slate.
W&M kicks off the season with a trip to 2016 College World Series participant Florida for a three-game series. The series in Gainesville, Fla. is set for Feb. 17-19.
The Tribe returns to Williamsburg for its home opener at Plumeri Park when they host Lafayette for a weekend set. The series gets underway on Friday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m., followed by games on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m., concluding on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 1 p.m.
Once again the Green and Gold will play a challenging mid-week schedule against their local rivals. W&M plays eight mid-week road contests starting at 2016 NCAA Regional participant Virginia on Feb. 28. Other mid-week road game include: VMI (March 1), Maryland (March 7), Virginia Tech (March 21), VCU (April 4), Old Dominion (April 11), Norfolk State (April 12), Richmond (April 18), and George Mason (April 26).
The five-game home mid-week schedule begins with in-state rival Virginia Tech on Wednesday, March 8. W&M also hosts Norfolk State (March 14), VMI (March 22), Old Dominion (March 29), and Maryland (April 19).
The Tribe will compete in a round robin weekend at the Irish Classic, hosted by Notre Dame. The tournament will be held at USA Baseball Complex in Cary, N.C. Currently the Tribe’s opponents are to be determined, but the event runs the weekend of March 3-5.
W&M plays back-to-back, home non-conference weekends at Plumeri Park as they host St. Joseph’s for a single game on Friday, March 10, before hosting Yale for a pair of games on March 11-12. The final non-conference home series is against 2016 NCAA Regional Participant and Atlantic 10 Champions Rhode Island is on March 17-19.
The final non-conference weekend comes on the road at Eastern Tennessee St. The Tribe and Buccaneers meet in Johnson City, TN of April 14-16.
In 2016, the Colonial Athletic Association once again sent multiple teams to the NCAA Regionals and the 2017 conference slate looks to be equally as competitive. W&M’s CAA schedule starts with a rematch of the CAA Championship at UNCW March 24-26. The Tribe’s three other CAA road series also include: Delaware (March 31-April 2), Towson (April 28-30), and Hofstra (May 18 and 19).
W&M hosts four CAA weekends at Plumeri Park, beginning with Elon on Friday, April 7 through Sunday, April 9. The three other home CAA series include James Madison (April 21-23), College of Charleston (May 5-7), and Northeastern (May 11 and 12).
The Tribe returns 24 players from last year’s rosters that claimed the CAA Championship and advanced to the Charlottesville Regional Final in 2016. Single Game and Season Tickets to Tribe baseball can be purchased through the WM Ticket Office.
