Saint Louis head baseball coach Darin Hendrickson has announced the Billikens’ 2020 schedule. The slate includes 27 home games, five opponents who finished among the top 100 in the final 2019 NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and five teams who qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
The Billikens will visit Hoover, Ala., for the second consecutive season, this year to play UT Martin in a three-game series to open up the season. SLU will take on Ohio in Lexington, S.C., the following weekend and then visit Port Charlotte, Fla., for the Snowbird Classic with Central Connecticut (NCAA Regionals), Eastern Michigan and Northeastern.
2019 Atlantic 10 Tournament champion and NCAA Regionals member Fordham, Saint Joseph’s, UMass and La Salle are the Billikens’ conference home opponents. Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, Illinois State (No. 26 in the final 2019 RPI), Bradley, Murray State, Texas Southern, SIUE, SEMO and Southern Illinois also visit St. Louis.
Saint Louis faces three nonconference 2019 top-50 RPI teams, two of whom played in the NCAA Tournament, on the road throughout the season. College World Series National Champion Vanderbilt (No. 1) is on the docket for Feb. 26. The Billikens visit Oklahoma State (No. 7), who made it to NCAA Super Regionals in 2019, for a two-game series March 10-11 and Missouri (No. 31) on April 7.
Defending 2019 A-10 regular season champion VCU (No. 58), George Washington, Dayton and St. Bonaventure are the Billikens’ 2020 conference road opponents.
“The 2020 schedule provides a mix of new opponents,” Hendrickson said, “certainly highlighted a midweek contest with defending national champion Vanderbilt and a two-game set at Oklahoma State in their new state-of-the art ballpark.”
“Student-athletes want to play the best and play at great facilities,” Hendrickson said. “That energizes the team.”
“Atlantic 10 play will be very challenging this season, as we play some of the top teams on the road and a very good home slate,” Hendrickson said.
“The schedule has a nice blend,” Hendrickson said, “and we get to play at premier parks against programs that will challenge us to the fullest extent.”
