SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Highlighted by a trip to LSU, Bryant University baseball head coach Steve Owens announced the 2019 schedule on Tuesday afternoon.
The 56-game schedule features five teams that made the 2018 NCAA Tournament (14 games in total) and begins with 18-straight road games. In addition to the challenging non-conference schedule, the Bulldogs will attempt to win their eight-straight Northeast Conference Regular-Season title.
“The 2019 schedule will be very challenging from start to finish,” Owens said. “As usual, we play the first 18 games on the road against some of the top programs in the country. During that stretch, we will face tough travel and short practice opportunities. From the middle of March on, we have a 50/50 spilt of home and away games and will play all of our NEC series and in-region midweek games. We are excited about this year’s club and will continue the process of preparing to win and striving for the opportunity to play in the post-season. I like the effort and attitude that the team has brought to work so far. We are improving and having fun together.”
Bryant will open the 2019 season with a three-game series at first-time opponent Abilene Christian on Feb. 15. It will be the Bulldogs’ first game against a member of the Southland Conference since they faced Southeastern Louisiana in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
That 2014 NCAA Tournament happened to be in Baton Rouge, the site of Bryant’s second weekend series of the season. Bryant will travel to the bayou for a three-game series with national powerhouse LSU (Feb. 22-24). The Tigers have won six national championships, the second-most in NCAA history.
Bryant’s third weekend of the season will bring more familiarity as a three-game series with Virginia Tech will see the Bulldogs face former pitching coach Ryan Fecteau. The Bulldogs and Hokies were scheduled to play in 2018 but the game was canceled due to inclement weather. Bryant is 4-3 all-time against Virginia Tech.
The Black and Gold then embark on their spring break trip that will take them to North Carolina, South Carolina and back into Virginia. Bryant opens the trip with a three-game set at Elon (Mar. 8-10) before playing midweek games at Winthrop (Mar. 12) and Wofford (Mar. 13). The Bulldogs close the trip in Richmond, Virginia, as they’ll face the Spiders, Quinnipiac and first-time opponent Toledo.
Following a midweek trip to Hartford (Mar. 20), the Bulldogs open their 21-game home schedule with a three-game NEC series against Central Connecticut. Bryant’s home slate also includes visits from Brown (Mar. 27), Fairleigh Dickinson (Apr. 5-7), Connecticut (Apr. 9), Hartford (Apr. 12-14), Rhode Island (Apr. 16), Boston College (Apr. 24), Quinnipiac (Apr. 30), Northeastern (May 1), Mount St. Mary’s (May 3-5) and LIU Brooklyn (May 10-12).
In addition to NEC series at LIU Brooklyn, Central Connecticut, Wagner and Sacred Heart, Bryant will also visit Brown (Mar. 26, Apr. 10), Rhode Island (Apr. 3), Quinnipiac (Apr. 17) and UMass Lowell (May 14).
The 2019 NEC Baseball Championships are scheduled for May 23-26 at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Connecticut.
