2018 #BIGEASTbase Season Starts This Weekend
NEW YORK – College baseball’s opening day is Friday. All seven BIG EAST teams are in action this weekend with the first weekly awards announced on Monday, Feb. 19. Seton Hall and Xavier will test their rosters early against ranked teams, No. 23 North Carolina State and No. 5 Florida State, respectively. St. John’s, the coaches’ preseason favorite is ranked No. 25.
Butler opens in Wilmington, N.C. playing four games over the three-day period. The Bulldogs will open with two games against Lehigh with a noon game on Friday and a 10 a.m. first pitch on Saturday. Butler, picked to finish fifth in the league, will then face host North Carolina Wilmington in a Saturday afternoon game. Butler will finish the weekend against Eastern Kentucky.
Creighton will start the season with a weekend series against Northeastern at a neutral site in Fort Myers, Fla. The two teams will be playing in the City of Palms Park, the former spring training home of the Boston Red Sox. First pitch is at 3 p.m. on Friday and will continue with 1 p.m. games on Saturday and Sunday.
Traveling to Winston Salem, N.C.,
Georgetown will take on host Wake Forest before playing neutral-site matchups against Gardner-Webb on Saturday and Navy on Sunday. All three games will be played at Wake Forest's David F. Couch Ballpark. Wake Forest is receiving votes in a two of the national ranking polls.
St. John’s, ranked 25th nationally in the Baseball America poll, will kick off the season with a three-game series in Buies Creek, N.C. against Campbell University. First pitch is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m. St. John’s is 17-11 all-time against Big South schools, including a series win at Liberty last season.
Seton Hall travels to Raleigh to play No. 23 NC State in a three-game series that has already been altered on account of weather. The Pirates and Wolfpack will play a doubleheader on Friday starting at noon, then play Sunday afternoon. The games, played at Doak Field at Dail Park will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra. It is the first meeting for the Pirates against NC State. The Wolfpack was an at-large selection in the NCAAs last year. They made it to the Lexington Regional Final.
Villanova will also play on the road, opening with a three-game series at Norfolk State at Marty L. Miller Field. The Wildcats’ first pitch will be Friday at 3 p.m., with the other two games schedule for Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sundya at noon.
Two-time defending BIG EAST tournament champion
Xavier will test their skills early against No. 5 Florida State with first pitch slated for 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday games set for 1 p.m. All three games will be available on the ACC Network Extra. It will be the first test for new head skipper Billy O’Conner. It is the first meeting between the Musketeers and Seminoles. Florida State made its first trip to the College World Series last year since 2012. Xavier advanced to the NCAA Regional Final for the second time in as many years.
Upcoming #BIGEASTbase Schedule
Friday, Feb. 16
Lehigh vs. BUTLER at 12 p.m. (Wilmington, N.C.)
SETON HALL at No. 25 North Carolina State at 12 p.m.
(doubleheader)
Northeastern vs. CREIGHTON at 3 p.m. (Fort Myers, Fla.)
VILLANOVA at Norfolk State at 3 p.m.
No. 25 ST. JOHN’S at Campbell at 4 p.m.
XAVIER at No. 5 Florida State at 4 p.m.
GEORGETOWN at Wake Forest at 4 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 17
Lehigh vs. BUTLER at 10 a.m. (Wilmington, N.C.)
Gardner-Webb vs. GEORGETOWN at 12 p.m. (Winston Salem, N.C.)
XAVIER at No. 5 Florida State at 1 p.m.
VILLANOVA at Norfolk State at 1 p.m.
SETON HALL at No. 23 North Carolina State at 2 p.m.
Northeastern vs. CREIGHTON at 2 p.m. (Fort Myers, Fla.)
BUTLER at North Carolina Wilmington at 2 p.m.
No. 25 ST. JOHN’S at Campbell at 3 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 18
Eastern Kentucky vs. BUTLER at 10 a.m. (Wilmington, N.C.)
Navy vs. GEORGETOWN at 10 a.m. (Winston Salem, N.C.)
Northeastern vs. CREIGHTON at 11 a.m. (Fort Myers, Fla.)
No. 25 ST. JOHN’S at Campbell at 1 p.m.
SETON HALL at No. 23 North Carolina State at 1 p.m.
XAVIER at No. 5 Florida State at 1 p.m.