Eastern Michigan Athletics
Baseball Announces 2012 Season Schedule
11/17/2011 2:45:00 PM | Baseball
Head Coach Jay Alexander’s Eagles have 55 games scheduled for upcoming season
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com)– Eastern Michigan University Head Baseball Coach Jay Alexander has announced his team's schedule for the 2012 season Thursday, Nov. 17. The Eagles look to build off a successful 2011 regular season with a 55-game slate that begins with 17 consecutive road contests and includes three national qualifiers from 2011.
“I believe this schedule is as challenging as last season,” said Alexander, who enters his fourth season at the helm of the baseball program. “I strongly believe playing this type of competitive schedule will get us ready for the Mid-American Conference schedule and hopefully the postseason.”
The Eagles open at Spartanburg, S.C. with the USC Upstate/Wofford College Tournament, Feb. 17-19, before facing a tough Oral Roberts squad in a three-game set, Feb. 24-26, in Tulsa, Okla. The Golden Eagles finished 39-22 last season after reaching the regional final of the NCAA Tournament.
Following games against Duke, North Carolina Central, Marshall and Wake Forest, the Green and White head out West to Tucson, Ariz. to battle the Arizona Wildcats, March 9-11. Arizona finished the 2011 season at 39-21 after falling to Texas A&M in the regional final. The Eagles round out their nearly month-long road trip with a pair of contests at West Virginia, March 13-14.
“Oral Roberts and Arizona should start the season nationally ranked,” added Alexander. “We play Duke, Wake Forest and Marshall which are all teams that have very good programs and play in strong baseball conferences.”
The 2011 home schedule gets underway March 16-18, with the second-annual Oestrike Classic, where EMU will host Niagara University in the first-ever meeting between the two clubs. After a midweek day trip to South Bend, Ind. to play Notre Dame, EMU will host Miami University, March 23-25, in the first of nine series against MAC foes.
Focus then shifts to the Big Ten Conference for a pair of games, with Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, March 27, and the University of Michigan, March 28, in Ypsilanti. The Eagles will meet the Wolverines once more, April, 18, in Ann Arbor, and play Michigan State University in a home-and-home series, April 4, at Oestrike and April 11, in East Lansing, to round out games against Big Ten teams. EMU will conclude its non-conference slate with a single home contest against Hillsdale College, May 1.
Along with the RedHawks, Eastern Michigan will host three additional MAC series against Central Michigan University, April 13-15, Northern Illinois University, April 27-29, and Bowling Green University, May 4-6. The Chippewas come to Oestrike for a second consecutive year with the Eagles looking for a measure of payback after CMU won the MAC West division with a 2-1 series win over EMU on the final weekend of the 2011 regular season.
The Green and White will play MAC road series against Ohio University, March 30-April 1, Western Michigan University, April 6-8, Ball State University, April 20-22, the University at Buffalo, May 11-13, and the University of Toledo, May 17-19.
On May 15, the Eagles will head to Avon, Ohio to square off against Kent State University at All Pro Freight Stadium, the site of the 2012 Mid-American Conference Tournament. It will be the only regular season meeting between the Eagles and the defending MAC Champion Golden Flashes and will not count as a MAC contest.
The Mid-American Conference Tournament takes place May 25-28. The top eight seeds will compete for an automatic bid into the NCAA Regional Tournament which will begin the first week of June. The Eagles last earned a trip to the tournament in 2008, when they captured the MAC Title with a convincing 12-4 drubbing of the No. 1-seeded Golden Flashes in the championship game.
“I believe this schedule is as challenging as last season,” said Alexander, who enters his fourth season at the helm of the baseball program. “I strongly believe playing this type of competitive schedule will get us ready for the Mid-American Conference schedule and hopefully the postseason.”
The Eagles open at Spartanburg, S.C. with the USC Upstate/Wofford College Tournament, Feb. 17-19, before facing a tough Oral Roberts squad in a three-game set, Feb. 24-26, in Tulsa, Okla. The Golden Eagles finished 39-22 last season after reaching the regional final of the NCAA Tournament.
Following games against Duke, North Carolina Central, Marshall and Wake Forest, the Green and White head out West to Tucson, Ariz. to battle the Arizona Wildcats, March 9-11. Arizona finished the 2011 season at 39-21 after falling to Texas A&M in the regional final. The Eagles round out their nearly month-long road trip with a pair of contests at West Virginia, March 13-14.
“Oral Roberts and Arizona should start the season nationally ranked,” added Alexander. “We play Duke, Wake Forest and Marshall which are all teams that have very good programs and play in strong baseball conferences.”
The 2011 home schedule gets underway March 16-18, with the second-annual Oestrike Classic, where EMU will host Niagara University in the first-ever meeting between the two clubs. After a midweek day trip to South Bend, Ind. to play Notre Dame, EMU will host Miami University, March 23-25, in the first of nine series against MAC foes.
Focus then shifts to the Big Ten Conference for a pair of games, with Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, March 27, and the University of Michigan, March 28, in Ypsilanti. The Eagles will meet the Wolverines once more, April, 18, in Ann Arbor, and play Michigan State University in a home-and-home series, April 4, at Oestrike and April 11, in East Lansing, to round out games against Big Ten teams. EMU will conclude its non-conference slate with a single home contest against Hillsdale College, May 1.
Along with the RedHawks, Eastern Michigan will host three additional MAC series against Central Michigan University, April 13-15, Northern Illinois University, April 27-29, and Bowling Green University, May 4-6. The Chippewas come to Oestrike for a second consecutive year with the Eagles looking for a measure of payback after CMU won the MAC West division with a 2-1 series win over EMU on the final weekend of the 2011 regular season.
The Green and White will play MAC road series against Ohio University, March 30-April 1, Western Michigan University, April 6-8, Ball State University, April 20-22, the University at Buffalo, May 11-13, and the University of Toledo, May 17-19.
On May 15, the Eagles will head to Avon, Ohio to square off against Kent State University at All Pro Freight Stadium, the site of the 2012 Mid-American Conference Tournament. It will be the only regular season meeting between the Eagles and the defending MAC Champion Golden Flashes and will not count as a MAC contest.
The Mid-American Conference Tournament takes place May 25-28. The top eight seeds will compete for an automatic bid into the NCAA Regional Tournament which will begin the first week of June. The Eagles last earned a trip to the tournament in 2008, when they captured the MAC Title with a convincing 12-4 drubbing of the No. 1-seeded Golden Flashes in the championship game.
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