5.2K
BLACKSBURG – The 2018 Virginia Tech baseball schedule marks the beginning of the John Szefc era in Blacksburg. The Hokies slate features a total of 30 different teams, including two new opponents – South Alabama and Ball State – and a few teams Tech hasn’t played in more than a decade. The breakdown of the 55-game slate features contests against 13 different conferences, the most common are four against the Big South and three each versus the Big 12, the Mid-American and Conference USA, and in 10 different states, with 29 of those taking place in the Commonwealth of Virginia, including 23 at newly renovated English Field at Union Park.
The season starts on Friday, Feb. 16 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with the Hokies playing a four-game series at the Coastal Carolina Tournament. Tech will face the 2016 national champion Chanticleers at 4 p.m. in the season opener before playing South Alabama, Oklahoma and Kansas State, Saturday through Monday respectively. The following weekend, Tech will travel to the state of Louisiana for the New Orleans Tournament and will face Iowa, the host Privateers and Ball State, Friday through Sunday.
Tech’s home opener is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 27 versus Radford, with a 4 p.m. first pitch, before the Hokies head out on the road, this time to DeLand, Florida for five games – three in the Stetson Tournament over the weekend against the Hatters, Purdue and Central Michigan – and then a single game Tuesday versus Wagner and another one against Central Michigan Wednesday.
Immediately after, the Hokies return to Blacksburg to open ACC play against Pittsburgh, starting Friday, March 9 through Sunday March 11. The rest of the ACC home slate for Tech will see NC State (March 29-31 – Thursday-Saturday series), Louisville (April 13-15), Duke (April 27-29) and Miami (May 11-13) visit Union Park.
ACC road opponents for the Hokies this season includes trips to Atlanta, Georgia to face Georgia Tech (March 16-18), Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts to play Boston College (March 23-25), Charlottesville for a three-game set with the Cavaliers (April 6-8), South Bend, Indiana to play the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame (April 20-22) and it ends with a trip to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to face the Tar Heels (May 17-19).
The nonconference schedule for Tech includes a home date with Bryant (March 14), a home-and-home series with Marshall (March 20 in Blacksburg, April 11 in Charleston, West Virginia), a home-and-home series with Liberty (March 27 in Blacksburg, May 2 in Lynchburg), a home game against Dayton (April 4), a game at Radford (April 17), a home game with Old Dominion (April 18), a home-and-home series with VMI (April 25 in Lexington, May 1 in Blacksburg), a trip to Morgantown, West Virginia (May 9) and concludes with a game versus William & Mary on May 15.
Twelve teams will participate in the ACC Tournament at Durham Bulls Athletic Park from May 22-27. The format, in its second year, features four pools with three teams in each pool. Pool play takes place on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with three games each day. Each pool plays a round robin, with the top team advancing to the semifinals. The semifinals are Saturday, followed by the championship game on Sunday.
The entire 2018 Virginia Tech schedule can be viewed online (http://www.hokiesports.com/baseball/schedule/) or in the attachment and, as always, all games, dates and times are tentative and subject to change.
