PITTSBURGH – In his first season at the helm of the University of Pittsburgh baseball program, head coach Mike Bell announced his team’s full 2019 schedule Thursday morning.
The Panthers will host 25 games at Charles L. Cost Field in 2019, in addition to the #BackyardBrawl at PNC Park, taking part in 20 road contests and 11 neutral site games. Pitt’s ACC matchups come against NC State, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Miami, Duke, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Florida State, North Carolina and Georgia Tech.
Pitt will face off against 11 teams in the top 100 of the final 2018 RPI rankings, including four in the top 25. The Panthers’ slate consists of five 2018 NCAA qualifiers, including one College World Series participant (North Carolina).
“We are very excited and look forward to the challenges that our 2019 schedule presents,” said Bell. “We truly feel that, from the travel in our opening weeks, to the grind of the ACC, to the quality of the non-conference rivalries and bringing the Backyard Brawl to PNC Park, our schedule will provide our student-athletes the ultimate college baseball experience and represent the Gold Standard.”
The Panthers open the season at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, Fla., for the third consecutive season, hosting the Florida Classic with Villanova, Iowa, Marshall and Milwaukee, Feb. 15-17. Pitt will then take to Spartanburg, S.C., for games with USC Upstate (Feb. 22), Radford (Feb. 23) and Bucknell (Feb. 24), before returning to Kissimmee, Fla., for outings with Hofstra, St. Peter’s, Butler and Central Michigan March 1-3.
Pitt opens home action against Youngstown State March 5 in the final tune up before league action. ACC play will get underway at Doak Field in Raleigh, N.C., as Pitt faces off with perennial powerhouse NC State March 8-10.
The first regional rivalry game will take place March 12 as the Panthers host Penn State, kicking off six straight at home, followed by Youngstown State (March 13). ACC baseball will visit Charles L. Cost Field when the Panthers host Virginia Tech March 15-17. The homestand will conclude March 20 against Kent State.
The Panthers will visit the 2015 National Champion Virginia Cavaliers at Davenport Field March 22-24, followed by a contest at Youngstown State (March 27). A three-game home series with ACC Coastal Division rival Miami (March 29-31) will conclude the month of March.
A trip to West Virginia (April 3) will kick off April, before the Panthers travel to Duke April 5-7. Pitt concludes its road trip at Penn State April 10 to wrap up the home-and-home series with the Nittany Lions.
Wake Forest will make an appearance in Pittsburgh April 12-14, before the Panthers travel to Kent, Ohio for an April 17 battle against Kent State.
Pitt will remain at Charles L. Cost Field for eight straight to close out the month of April, welcoming Notre Dame (April 19-21), Presbyterian (April 26-27) and Maryland Eastern Shore (April 30-May 1).
A highly anticipated visit to Florida State is set for March 3-5 in Tallahassee, Fla., as Bell prepares to square off with his former team.
The Panthers wrap up their regular season home schedule the following week, welcoming Western Michigan (May 7) and Coastal foe North Carolina (May 10-12).
The Backyard Brawl versus West Virginia is slated for Tuesday, May 14 as the rivalry heads to PNC Park.
The regular season concludes on the road, as the Panthers visit Georgia Tech in Atlanta May 16-18.
The 2019 ACC Baseball Championship is set for May 21-26 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, N.C., with NCAA Regional action getting underway the following week. NCAA Super Regionals are scheduled for June 7-9 as the College World Series will take place at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb., June 15-26.
