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The Florida International baseball team recently finalized its 2010 schedule, announced head coach Turtle Thomas. The 2010 slate is packed with big-name programs both at home and on the road to go along with the always-challenging Sun Belt Conference schedule. “I think the Sun Belt getting better and better every year because we have a lot of great coaches in this conference,” Thomas said. “There are no easy ones in this league.”

FIU will play 19 games against NCAA Regional participants, 13 of them out of conference, including a meeting with College World Series participant Arizona State. “We are trying to put out guys in tough games in order to prepare them for regionals,” Thomas added. “You want to be able to play those types of teams if you can because if you’re fortunate enough to make the regionals, then you’re used to playing that quality of competition.”

Complete 2010 FIU Schedule

FIU opens the season at home when they host the Maryland Terrapins from the ACC February 19-21. The Golden Panthers will then take on Oral Roberts

FIU Head Coach Turtle Thomas

on February 26-28. Last season the Golden Eagles finished 33-15, won the Summit League and went on to the Tempe Regional where they won two games before being eliminated by Arizona State, who FIU will also play in 2010.

After the six-game homestand, FIU will hit the road for the Arizona State Surprise Tournament in Surprise, Ariz. After opening up the tournament against Utah Valley State on March 4, FIU will play UC Riverside (33-20 in ’09) March 5 and Cal Poly March 6. The Mustangs of Cal Poly finished 37-21 and also went to the Tempe Regional in 2009. The Golden Panthers then close out the tournament playing College World Series participant Arizona State on March 7. The Sun Devils, who were ranked as high as No.2 in the country in postseason polls, went 51-14 and advanced to the CWS where they won two games before being bounced by Texas.

Following the tough trip to Arizona, things don’t get much easier for FIU as they host the defending ACC champions Eagles of Boston College March 9-10. BC beat Miami in the finals of the ACC tournament last year and advanced to the Austin Regional. FIU will then host Big East member Rutgers March 12-14.

FIU will then head to the west coast of Florida on March 16 to face the Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast who were the A-Sun regular season champions in ’09 after posting a 36-18 record. FIU then hosts Southern Utah March 17 before opening up the Sun Belt schedule with a visit from the Troy Trojans March 20-23.

MORE SCHEDULES

A visit from A-Sun tournament champions and Gainesville Regional participant Jacksonville March 23-24 will precede FIU’s next conference series as they travel to Little Rock, Ark. March 26 for a 3-game set with the UALR Trojans and then come home on April 2 to host the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. The Golden Panthers then go on the road for the first of hopefully two trips to Murfreesboro, Tenn. April 9-14 as they visit the Blue Raiders, a team that was co-regular season champions and won the Sun Belt tournament last year on their way to an NCAA Louisville Regional birth.

On April 14, FIU will face yet another NCAA regional participant as the Wildcats of Bethune Cookman come to town. After a visit from the New Orleans Privateers on April 16-17, FIU will head to Bowling Green, Ky. to face Sun Belt Conference regular season co-champions and NCAA Oxford Regional participant Western Kentucky April 23-25.

FIU plays Jacksonville again on April 27-28, this time on the road before heading home to host ULM starting April 30. A trip to Daytona Beach on May 5^th will ready the Panthers for their trip to Jonesboro to face Arkansas State starting May 7. FIU then hosts South Alabama starting May 14 before facing FGCU at home and finishing the season in Boca Raton facing the Florida Atlantic Owls starting May 20.

The Sun Belt Conference Championships will be held in Murfreesboro, Tenn. on May 25-29.

(Press Release)

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Commodores to play 35 games at Hawkins Field in spring

Vanderbilt Head Coach Tim Corbin

The Commodores will face 13 teams that made the NCAA tournament a year ago and 14 teams that finished with 30 or more wins.

Complete 2010 Vanderbilt Schedule (PDF)

Due to changes in the start date for baseball, Vanderbilt will open the season at home for the first time since 2005 as Niagara comes to Hawkins Field the weekend of Feb. 19-21 for a three-game series. VU will play Austin Peay on Feb. 23 before heading to Los Angeles to participate in the Jackie Robinson Tournament the weekend of Feb. 26-28. The Commodores will take on UCLA (Feb. 26) and USC (Feb. 27) at their home parks before concluding the trip against Big 12 power Oklahoma State (Feb. 28) at Dodger Stadium.

“I like the fact that we can open the season here at Hawkins Field for the first time in five years, then go out west the following week to play in a very high caliber tournament to prepare us for Southeastern Conference competition,” said Corbin.

Vanderbilt will return home for a nine-game homestand to start March, including hosting the Music City Classic after a one-year sabbatical. Tennessee Tech (March 2) will take on the Dores to open the skein before Kent State (March 5), Illinois State (March 6) and Indiana (March 7) come to Nashville to participate in the Classic the following weekend. Both Kent State and Indiana made the NCAA field in 2009, with the Commodores and Hoosiers facing off in the Louisville Regional last spring.

VU will close out its non-conference weekend schedule against Ohio (March 12-14) and will play home-and-home games against Western Kentucky (March 16 in Nashville, March 17 in Bowling Green) in midweek action.

The Commodores will open SEC play on the road against Alabama (March 19-21).

Vanderbilt will return home for a seven-game homestand with contests against Lipscomb (March 23), Wright State (March 24) Kentucky (March 26-28) and Wofford (March 30-31).

The Dores open April with a series at Florida (April 2-4) before beginning an eight game stretch at home against Belmont (April 6), South Carolina (April 9-11), Middle Tennessee (April 13) and Auburn (April 16-18).

The team will play its longest stretch away from home at the end of April with six games on the road: Lipscomb (April 20), Middle Tennessee (April 21), Tennessee (April 23-25) and at Austin Peay (April 27).

VU’s final stretch of regular season contests begins with a home series against Georgia (April 30, May 1-2) followed by a road series against defending national champions LSU (May 7-9). The Tigers are back on the schedule after a two-year absence due to the SEC schedule rotation. Ole Miss is not on the schedule for the next two years.

Vanderbilt will host Louisville in a rematch of last season’s regional championship game on May 11.

The Dores will travel to Mississippi State the weekend of May 14-16, before closing out the regular season at home against College World Series participant Arkansas on May 20-22. The series against the Razorbacks is a Thursday, Friday, Saturday set that every team in the league plays on the final weekend in preparation for the conference tournament.

The SEC tourney begins on May 26 in Hoover, Ala., and runs until May 30.

Schedule Notes:

• 2009 NCAA tournament teams on the schedule include Oklahoma State, Tennessee Tech, Kent State, Indiana, Western Kentucky, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Middle Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, Louisville, Arkansas.

• Opponents with 40 or more wins in 2009: Kent State (43-17), Western Kentucky (42-20), Florida (42-22), South Carolina (40-23), Middle Tennessee (44-18), LSU (56-17), Louisville (47-18), Arkansas (41-24).

• Opponents with 30 or more wins in 2009 (not including above teams): Oklahoma State (34-24), Tennessee Tech (31-24), Indiana (32-27), Alabama (37-21), Auburn (31-25), Georgia (38-24).

• Longest road trip: six games (April 20-27). Longest homestand: nine games (March 2-16).

(Press Release)