Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech head baseball coach John Szefc has released the Hokies' 2020 baseball schedule, which begins on Friday, Feb. 14 at a tournament hosted by Coastal Carolina and features six home weekend series.
The 56-game slate will be contested against seven different opponents that appeared in the 2019 NCAA Championship, a total of 18 games, while a total of 20 games will be against teams that finished in the top 50 RPI last year. CLICK HERE to view the entire schedule.
"I think this will be a challenging schedule for us, which includes our non-conference games," Szefc said. "Then, the ACC is going to be really challenging as usual. I just think our staff feels pretty optimistic about the changes that we've made within the team, as far as the guys who are back and the new guys. I think it's a good mix. I look forward to the schedule getting going, but we have a lot of work to do before then.
The Hokies open 2020 with back-to-back 11 a.m. games against San Diego State (Feb. 14) and UNC Greensboro (Feb. 15) before taking on the host Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in a 3 p.m. game on Feb. 16.
Tech's home opener in English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park is scheduled for the following Tuesday, Feb. 18 against ETSU with a 4 p.m. first pitch.
Szefc will then take his team to Lafayette, Louisiana to face the Ragin' Cajuns in a three-game series at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park, his first games back there as a head coach – he was an assistant there (2003-08) under the late Tony Robichaux.
"I look forward to taking our guys down there, I did work there for six years," Szefc said. "That's a really good baseball place. There's a regional atmosphere down there. We're going to be playing in two really nice ballparks to start the season, there and at Coastal.
"This will be the first time I'm back there on the field. I was there one time for a recruiting trip and then I was down there, unfortunately, for Tony's funeral this past year, so it will be the first time I'm back on that field since 2008."
Tech's first home weekend series is against Bryant, which starts Friday, Feb. 28 and finishes on Sunday, March 1. ACC weekends at home include Miami (March 13-15), Wake Forest (April 3-5), Duke (April 10-12), Notre Dame (April 17-19) and Pittsburgh (May 1-3).
Quick Notes
- Tech will play home-and-home series against ETSU (at April 8), Radford (H: Feb. 26; at April 7), Marshall (H: March 4; at March 17), Liberty (H: March 24; at April 29) and VMI (at April 1; H: April 21).
- The Hokies road ACC weekends are at Georgia Tech (March 6-8), at Boston College (March 20-22), at Virginia (March 27-29), at North Carolina (April 24-26) and at Louisville (May 14-16).
- Tech single game opponents at home include William & Mary (March 10), George Mason (March 11), James Madison (April 15) and Old Dominion (May 12), while Norfolk State will play back-to-back games here (May 5-6).
- High Point is the lone opponent who will host the Hokies but will not visit Blacksburg in 2020.
Up Next:
Reminder, Tech released its fall schedule a couple weeks ago (click here to view) and its first opponent will be the Fieldhouse Pirates, a program out of Canada, on Oct. 14. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m.