MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois head baseball coach Ryan Brownlee has announced the 2018 schedule for the Leatherneck baseball team.
“We have been a program over the last few years that has built a reputation for playing a very challenging schedule,” Brownlee said. “This year is no different. In the non-league portion of our schedule, we are playing the familiar foes from the Missouri Valley and seeing the addition of Indiana to our schedule. Our league should once again be very competitive, and when you play everyone six times, really good rivalries begin to form.”
The 2018 slate, which features 20 home contests, opens up on Feb. 16 in Murfreesboro, Tenn., where the Leathernecks will take on Middle Tennessee State in a three-game set. The Leathernecks will then begin their gradual migration north and west with weekend sets at Murray State (Feb. 23-25), Evansville (March 2-4), and Indiana State (March 10-12). Western Illinois will then head to Bloomington, Ind., for a midweek series at the Indiana Hoosiers on March 13 and 14.
After playing the first 14 games of the season on the road, the Leathernecks will return to the friendly confines of Alfred D. Boyer Stadium from March 16-18 for both their home and Summit League opening against North Dakota State. That set against the Bison kicks off an eight-game which also includes contests against St. Ambrose (March 20), South Dakota State (March 23-25) and Illinois State (March 27) before heading to Fort Wayne from March 30-April 1.
The remainder of the season will see the Leathernecks host Oral Roberts (April 6-8), Omaha (April 13-15), and Fort Wayne (May 4-6), as well as non-conference foes Bradley (April 4), SIU-Edwardsville (April 11) and Iowa (May 15).
The remaining road schedule will see Western Illinois travel to a mix of Summit League rivals and non-conference foes. Western Illinois will play at Bradley (April 18), North Dakota State (April 20-22), SIU-Edwardsville (April 24), Oral Roberts (April 27-29), Iowa (May 1), South Dakota State (May 11-13) and Omaha (May 17-19). The four-team Summit League Tournament is slated to be hosted by Oral Roberts from May 23-27 in Tulsa.
2018 Western Illinois Schedule
