Lumberjack Baseball Releases 2018 Schedule
12/30/2017 3:44:00 PM | Baseball
SFA to play 55 games against 25 opponents throughout 2018 season
2018 SFA Baseball Schedule
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Saturday afternoon, 10th-year Stephen F. Austin head baseball coach Johnny Cardenas unveiled his squad's 55-game regular season schedule for 2018. Featuring 25 opponents - six of which made the cut for the 2017 NCAA Tournament - SFA's slate of games begins Friday, Feb. 16, in Edinburg, Texas.
Four of the 'Jacks' 2018 opponents - TCU (ninth), Houston (30th), Sam Houston State (32nd) and Texas A&M (33rd) - are ranked among the top 40 teams in the nation according to the Collegiate Baseball Magazine's NCAA Division I Preseason Poll.
One of three teams who comprise the field of the Al Ogletree Classic, SFA takes on Central Michigan before facing off against host UTRGV the following morning. The 'Jacks' four-game slate in the Classic concludes Sunday in a doubleheader featuring tilts against the same two teams.
SFA's five-game road swing to start the season concludes in College Station, Texas, when the 'Jacks battle in-state adversary Texas A&M (Tuesday, Feb. 20). From there, SFA closes out the month of February with four consecutive home games.
The 'Jacks welcome Bradley, South Dakota State and UT Arlington to Jaycees Field during the weekend of Feb. 23-25 for a seven-game tournament before beginning the month of March on the road with a three-game set at former Southland foe Texas State (March 2-4).
Of the 20 games the 'Jacks are set to take part in during the month of March, 13 of them will take place at Jaycees Field. Included in the team's 13 March home games is a stretch of eight beginning with a non-conference tilt against Texas Southern (March 6) followed by a non-league series with Louisiana-Monroe (March 9-11).
After another non-conference game, this one against Prairie View A&M (March 13), SFA welcomes McNeese to Nacogdoches (March 16-18) to begin the 'Jacks' 30-game Southland Conference slate. After taking part in non-conference games at Prairie View A&M (March 20) and against Grambling State (March 21), SFA travels to Abilene, Texas, for a three-game Southland set with Abilene Christian (March 23-25) prior to closing out March with four more home games against Texas Southern (March 27) and Southland rival Incarnate Word (March 29-31).
With so many of their home games concentrated in the month of March, the 'Jacks will be on the road for the better part of April. Southland Conference series at Northwestern State (April 6-8) and Sam Houston State (April 13-15) are sandwiched around a single non-conference bout at UTSA (April 10) as part of a stretch of seven in a row on the road.
From there, SFA returns to Jaycees Field for its only four home games of April beginning with a single game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (April 17) followed with a three-game Southland Conference series against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (April 20-22). One more non-conference game, this one at TCU (April 24), precedes SFA's final out-of-state stretch of the regular season as the 'Jacks head to Southeastern Louisiana (April 27-29) for a league series.
Nine of SFA's 11 regular season games in the month of May are of the Southland Conference variety including home sets against Nicholls (May 4-6) and Lamar (May 11-13). Between those two series is a single game at Houston (May 8) before the 'Jacks wrap up their non-conference schedule in a big way by hosting TCU on May 15.
A short trip to Houston, Texas, to tangle with Houston Baptist (May 17-19) concludes SFA's regular season schedule and should the team find themselves among the top six teams in the Southland Conference standings at the end of that league series it would head to Sugar Land, Texas, for the Southland Conference Tournament (May 23-26).
For the past two seasons, SFA has qualified for the Southland Conference Tournament and in 2018 that goal remains for the 'Jacks. Reigning Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year Josh Evans is one of six seniors the club welcomes back for 2018 and that group will be called on to provide leadership to a team which boasts a total of 21 newcomers.
For complete coverage of Lumberjack baseball throughout the 2018 season, be sure to check SFAJacks.com and follow the 'Jacks on Twitter (@SFA_Baseball), Instagram (@SFA_Athletics) and Facebook (SFA Athletics).
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