Michigan Announces Challenging 2009 Schedule
9/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan baseball head coach Rich Maloney announced today (Sept. 17) the Wolverines' schedule for the 2009 season.
The three-time defending Big Ten Champions face up to seven games against 2008 NCAA Tournament qualifiers and will host a record 26 home dates during the 2009 slate. Additional highlights of the schedule include the inaugural Big Ten/BIG EAST challenge, the Jacksonville University Tournament, a weekend series at the University of Arizona and a trip to Port St. Lucie, Fla., for a repeat matchup with the New York Mets.
"This is another challenging schedule for us; one we look forward to with great anticipation," said Maloney. "We are excited to take part in the inaugural Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge in addition to some other strong early-season tournaments that we feel will give us an early indication of where we are for the 2009 season."
The inaugural Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge will be played Feb. 20-22 and hosted by the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Sports Commission. It will feature 27 games at various spring training venues in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area. Eight teams from the BIG EAST will join all 10 Big Ten squads at the event, where Michigan will take on South Florida, Cincinnati and St. John's.
"The Big East is an outstanding conference and we are excited about competing against them," said Maloney. "Both coaching groups got together and decided to partner up as a way to improve our respective RPI's. Rather than head south or west to start the year, we have a chance to face teams from areas where the weather has forced us inside and we can all come out of the gyms at the same time."
For the second straight season, Michigan will travel to Port St. Lucie, Fla., for a weekend series versus Siena March 6-7 and conclude with an exhibition contest versus the New York Mets on March 8 at Tradition Field, the spring-training home of the Mets.
"It's a great experience for our kids to play against major league players in a spring-training ballpark," Maloney said. "We get treated like royalty by the Mets thanks to Mr. (Fred) Wilpon and his graciousness. The outcome of the game really doesn't matter; it is an experience that they will remember for the rest of their lives."
The Wolverines will conclude their warm-weather swing with a weekend series at Arizona March 13-15, a rematch of the 2008 regional matchup won by the Wildcats.
"Arizona has a great program," said Maloney. "Coach (Andy) Lopez has had a great coaching career and his teams are always very well disciplined and do an outstanding job. It should be a great series and another opportunity for our team to play great competition away from home. It's a chance for us to grow as a team and compete."
Michigan makes its home debut at the Wilpon Baseball Complex against IPFW on Friday, March 20. The three-game opening weekend is part of a 26-game home slate for the three-time defending Big Ten champions.
"You need to play home games and be successful at home if you want to go to Omaha," Maloney said. "One of the great disparities in college baseball is the northern schools not being able to play as many home games as our counterparts to the south and west. To have 26 games at home is very exciting and we look forward to the challenge of competing well in front of our home fans."
The Wolverines open conference play at Iowa, March 27-29, before welcoming non-conference opponents Bowling Green and Oakland on March 31 and April 1, respectively, to the Wilpon Complex. April begins with a 12-game home stand with Akron on April 7 and Central Michigan on April 8 sandwiched between conference clashes with Penn State, April 3-5, and Illinois, April 10-12.
Michigan and Michigan State renew their storied rivalry with a three-game series split between both venues April 17-19. The Wolverines visit the Spartans on Friday, April 17, and Sunday, April, 19, while MSU comes to the Wilpon Complex on Saturday, April 18.
The Wolverines take a short break from conference play for a two-game set with Notre Dame, April 21-22, with each team hosting games on successive nights. Michigan's game with the Fighting Irish will also be the first night contest of the season at home.
Michigan gets back to Big Ten action at home against Indiana, April 24-26, before traveling to Columbus, Ohio, to face Ohio State, May 1-3. A home-and-home series with Western Michigan, May 5-6, and a single game at home against Ball State, May 12, fill midweek spots on the schedule -- part of five straight home contests down the stretch that also includes three games against Minnesota played May 8-10.
"Our expectations are always the same," Maloney said about Big Ten play. "We want to win the Big Ten and that will never change regardless of the year, and it will always be a staple here regardless of the sport at the University of Michigan. With that being said, we have our work cut out for us. The junior class that just left won three straight conference titles; their whole career all they knew was winning the Big Ten. We will have to have other guys step up this season. It is their moment now and they need to seize it and get us in position to have a chance to repeat."
Michigan concludes conference play with a series at Northwestern on May 14-15, capping off the 24-game conference slate. The Big Ten Tournament, played May 20-23, will once again be hosted by the regular-season champion, while the NCAA Tournament begins on Friday, May 29, at campus locations. The College World Series will be played June 13-24 at Omaha's Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium.
"It has been an incredible run the last three years," said Maloney. "We have every intention of competing at the highest level. It is a great challenge, but it will be fun."
The Wolverines are in the midst of fall practices continuing through Oct. 4, with the highlight of the fall schedule being the annual Maize and Blue game on Sunday, Oct. 5, beginning at 10 a.m. Following the contest will be a lunch reception at the Four Points Sheraton, open to the public at a cost of $20 per person.
Contact: Matt Fancett (734) 763-4423
