Red Bird to play eight games against 2009 NCAA Tournament Teams

ISU Head Coach Mark Kingston

in Gainesville, Fla. Illinois State’s schedule features 53 games, including 19 contests at home against regional foes Illinois, Northern Illinois, Eastern Illinois, Purdue, and Valley rivals Southern Illinois, Wichita State and Bradley.

Complete 2010 IllinoisState Schedule (PDF)

“This is a very challenging schedule as we look forward to 2010,” Illinois State head coach Mark Kingston said. “Our non conference opponents will prepare us for the demands of a very competitive Missouri Valley Conference. At one point, we will play five-consecutive games against 2009 NCAA tournament teams. Being able to play at Florida and Vanderbilt will also be an experience that pays dividends. This high level of competition will be good for us in the long term, both individually, and as a team.”

Illinois State will play its first 18 games on the road and begin the 2010 season at the Austin Peay Classic (Feb. 19-21) in Clarksville, Tenn., against Austin Peay and Iowa. The trip is the first of three the Redbirds will make to the state of Tennessee. Illinois State will then travel to Winter Haven, Fla., for the 2010 RussMatt Central Florida Invitational (Feb. 27-March1), where the Redbirds will play four games against four different opponents.

The Redbirds will then tackle the grueling five-game stretch against tournament teams to start its spring break trip, but the competition doesn’t let up with two games against James Madison (March 12 and 14) wrapped around a date with North Florida (March 13) in Jacksonville, Fla., before Illinois State returns home.

Illinois State opens the home portion of its schedule at Duffy Bass Field with a four-game series against Central Michigan (March 19-21). The Redbirds won’t have time to get too comfy, as the team plays nine of its next 11 games on the road, including the conference-opening series at Indiana State (March 26-28), another trip to Tennesse for a three-game series with Lipscomb (April 2-3), and a match-up with Valley foe Creighton in Omaha (April 9-11).

ISU will host mid-week match-ups with Illinois (March 30), Northern Illinois (April 6), Purdue (April 14) and Eastern Illinois (May 12). The Redbirds open the home-conference slate against Southern Illinois (April 16-18). Illinois State will also welcome Wichita State (April 30-May 2) and Bradley (May 14-16) to Duffy Bass Field in Missouri Valley Conference action. Keeping history alive, Illinois State will travel across town for the annual Horenberger-Bass Classic against Illinois Wesleyan (April 27). The Redbirds will close the season on the road at Evansville (May 20-22).

Postseason play begins Tuesday, May 25, with the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, hosted by Wichita State at Eck Stadium in Wichita, Kan. The NCAA Tournament begins on Friday, June 4.

(Release)

OMAHA, Neb. – Eleven games in Rosenblatt Stadium’s final season, games against five NCAA Tournament participants and three meetings with local rival Nebraska highlight this year’s 2010 Creighton Baseball schedule, which was released late Monday.

The Jays kick-off its 54 game schedule on Feb. 20 with a doubleheader in Conway, Ark. against Central Arkansas and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. The Bluejays will start the season with a 21-game road trip before playing its home opener against Indiana State on April 2 at Rosenblatt Stadium.

Creighton Head Coach Ed Servais

The Jays will also close its home slate with a Rosenblatt matinee against New Orleans on May 22 at 12:00 p.m. It will be the last regular season game the Jays play at the park, as they will play a handful of games at TD AMERITRADE Park Omaha in 2011 before moving in as full-time tenants in 2012.

Complete 2010 Creighton Schedule

The Jays non-conference season is highlighted by six games against four NCAA Regional participants from last season. The first of which will be Southland Conference champions Sam Houston State, who the Jays will play on March 5 and 7^th.

Minnesota is next on Creighton’s list of tourney teams, as the Jays will face the Golden Gophers at the Metrodome on March 13 in the Metrodome Tournament.

Kansas State and Kansas round out the Jays’ non-conference, ’09 tourney-team lineup, as they will face KSU in Manhattan on March 16. Creighton and Kansas will play a home-and-home set, as the Jays will visit Lawrence on March 23 and the Jayhawks will play at Rosenblatt on April 7.

After the season opener in Arkansas, the Jays will play in three tournaments, two of which will be in Texas. ULM, Northwestern State (La.) and Stephen F. Austin will be the opponents at the Stephen F. Austin Tournament while Northern Colorado and Sam Houston State will tangle with the Jays at SHSU’s tournament.

After a single non-conference game at Texas-Arlington, Creighton will play in the Metrodome Tournament in Minneapolis. The Jays will play South Dakota State on March 12, host Minnesota on the 13^th and Harvard on the 14^th.

The Jays will play a three-game set in Chicago against 2009 Horizon League regular season champ Illinois-Chicago before jumping into its 21-game, Missouri Valley Conference schedule.

The Jays be on the road at Southern Illinois on March 26-28, and will also have road conference series at Bradley and Missouri State.

Along with Indiana State, the Jays will host Valley opponents Illinois State, Evansville and 2009 regional participant Wichita State.

Creighton hosts two of the three games against Nebraska at Rosenblatt Stadium. An April 6 trip to Lincoln precedes games on April 20 and May 18 in Omaha.

Creighton will also play host to Big Ten foe Iowa, along with Air Force, Seattle University and New Orleans in its other non-conference home games.

The State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament will be played from May 25-29 at Eck Stadium in Wichita, Kan. It will be the second straight year Wichita has played host to the tournament.

The Jays finished last season 31-25, falling in the MVC title game to Wichita State. Creighton will look for its first NCAA regional appearance since 2007, and third under head coach Ed Servais.

(Release)

WICHITA, Kan. – The 2010 Wichita State baseball schedule features games with traditional national powers and conference champions along with 30 home games, head coach Gene Stephenson announced Oct. 22.

Shocker Head Coach Gene Stephenson

“Once again we have a great schedule for the fans and players alike,” Stephenson said.  “It will be very challenging for this team.  I think we have an especially challenging road schedule. It will require us to grow up in a hurry to be successful.  I think we’ll have a much better team overall, but we need to prove it on the field in the spring.  With the improvements at our facility, it should be an exciting season.”
Complete 2010 Wichita State Schedule (PDF)
The Shockers begin the 2010 season on Feb. 23 in Lawrence, Kan., against 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Kansas.  The Jayhawks return the trip to Wichita on April 27.  WSU then travels to Mobile, Ala., for the Coca-Cola Classic, Feb. 26-28.  In the tournament, WSU will face North Florida, Eastern Michigan and host South Alabama.

WSU then opens the home portion of its schedule with seven-straight games, two against North Dakota on March 2-3, three against Florida Gulf Coast, March 5-7 and two against Central Arkansas, March 9-10.  FGCU is coming off of two-straight Atlantic Sun regular-season titles.

WSU again hits the road for five-straight games against national powers including a three-game series at Long Beach State, March 12-14.  The Shockers wrap up the road trip with a two-game series in Tucson, Ariz., against Arizona, March 16-17.

The Shockers return home for a three-game series with 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Washington State, March 19-21.  The two teams met in the Norman Regional with the Cougars earning a 3-2 victory.

On March 23-24, the Shockers play a two-game set at Oral Roberts, another 2009 NCAA Tournament participant.  ORU returns the trip to Wichita on May 4 and May 18.

Missouri Valley Conference play gets underway for the Shocks on March 26-28 in Wichita against Bradley and then WSU travels to Manhattan, Kan., on March 30 to face 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Kansas State.  The Wildcats finished the season ranked 19th by Baseball America and 22nd by Collegiate Baseball, USA Today/ESPN and the NCBWA.  KSU visits Eck Stadium on April 20.

The final 2009 NCAA Tournament participant on WSU’s schedule is Oklahoma State.  The Shockers travel to Stillwater, Okla., on April 6, while the Cowboys visit Wichita on April 28.  OSU finished the 2009 season ranked 27th by Collegiate Baseball.

2009 Western Athletic Conference champion San Jose State visits Eck Stadium April 23-25, while independent powerhouse Dallas Baptist visits Wichita May 20-22.

The Shockers will play at Creighton on May 7-9 and will get to play at Rosenblatt Stadium on May 7-8.  It is the final season of Rosenblatt Stadium.

Other teams that will visit Eck Stadium in 2010 include Southern Illinois (April 9-11) and Missouri State (May 14-16).

Wichita State will also play host to the 2010 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament for the 24th time, May 26-29.

(Press Release)