Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech released its 2009 baseball schedule on Thursday, and nine games against 2008 NCAA College World Series participants highlight the 56-game slate. There will be 33 games played at the Hokies’ English Field, including a 10-game home stand in mid-March.
The Hokies will open the season with four games at the Courtyard by Marriott Classic in Spartanburg, S.C., a two-site invitational that is co-hosted by USC Upstate and Wofford. Tech will begin the weekend on Feb. 20 with its lone neutral-site contest of the season, a noon tilt against UNC Asheville on the campus of USC Upstate. The Hokies will then head down the road to face Wofford in a Saturday double-header before going back to USC Upstate for a single game against the Spartans on Sunday.
The Hokies’ home opener comes on Feb. 24 against East Tennessee State, which they will play again the next day before hosting a three-game set with Bucknell and a single contest against Youngstown State that weekend.
The ACC slate begins on March 6 with a visit to Duke for a three-game series, while Tech fans can witness the Hokies’ first ACC home series on March 13-15 when national title contender and 2008 College World Series participant North Carolina comes to town.
The Hokies will have their work cut out for them late in the season as they battle for an ACC Tournament bid, as back-to-back weekends against 2008 College World Series participants in Florida – April 24-26 at Miami and May 1-3 at Florida State – serve as the final two road trips of the schedule. Rival Virginia visits English Field on May 14-16 to close out the regular season.
Tech will hold home-and-homes with Radford, James Madison, Liberty and High Point throughout the season, and will also receive visits from USC Upstate, VMI, VCU, Gardner-Webb, William & Mary and Northeastern.
Aside from 30 conference games, the Hokies will play nine games against teams from the Big South Conference, five games against team from the Colonial Athletic Association and five games against teams from the Atlantic Sun.
In addition to ACC foes Miami, NC State, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Florida State and North Carolina, both James Madison (CAA champions) and Bucknell (Patriot League champions) participated in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship in 2008.
Click here to view the full schedule.