University of Memphis Athletics
Baseball Announces 2005 Schedule
Oct 21, 2004 | Baseball
Oct. 21, 2004
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A new era has begun in Memphis baseball with the hiring of first-year head coach Daron Schoenrock. With that comes new expectations for a revamped Tiger squad as its 2005 schedule was announced Thursday.
The Tigers slate is highlighted by eight games against NCAA Tournament participants. East Carolina, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Southern Miss, TCU and Tulane each saw action in NCAA Regional Tournament play, with East Carolina and Tulane advancing as far as the Super Regionals. All eight teams won at least 30 games last year.
Memphis will play in 31 games in the Memphis area. Included are three games in the Service Academies Classic on Feb. 25-27, and another three-game set in the Easton Challenge. Both tournaments will be held at USA Stadium in Millington, Tenn. The Tigers will play just one game at AutoZone Park this year when they host Ole Miss in the annual rivalry game. Memphis will see considerably more action at its home park, with 24 games at Nat Buring Stadium.
Memphis will face its usual tough Conference USA line up with strong home series against Houston and Southern Miss before rounding out home conference play against Saint Louis and Charlotte. The real task will come when the Tigers take to the road in C-USA action. Memphis will open the road schedule with a weekend series at USF before taking on C-USA Tournament contestants, UAB, East Carolina and Tulane. A trip to Cincinnati's new facility will wrap up league travel for Memphis.
"This year will be a challenging C-USA baseball season as always," said Schoenrock. "Trips to USF, ECU and Tulane will be very challenging for us this year. With Houston, Southern Miss, TCU and Charlotte coming in to Nat Buring, our fans will be able to see some great Conference USA baseball."
The non-conference schedule could be one that a new Tiger team could use early on to get comfortable playing together. Memphis will take on Air Force, Indiana and UT Martin in the early portion of the season as the first 12 games will be played in the Memphis area. Home series with Nicholls State and Middle Tennessee will prepare Memphis for a two-game set at Mississippi State. The Tigers will play against Arkansas State, Austin Peay and Murray State home-and-home series'. The U of M toughest two non-conference match-ups will come against Ole Miss on Mar. 22 and Apr. 26, and when the Tigers make a trip to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for a single game against Alabama on April 12.
"The early part of the season will allow us to experiment with some line ups and learn as much as we can about this team in the heat of the battle. The two tournaments in Millington will be challenging. The trip to Mississippi State will give us our first taste of a hostile environment on the road."
The 2005 C-USA Tournament will be hosted by Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, Miss. The top eight regular season finishers will advance to the double-elimination tournament.
The Tigers finished the 2004 season with a winning mark at 29-28 and an appearance in the C-USA Tournament, both of which were firsts since the 2001 season.
