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Oct. 7, 2008

2009 Navy Baseball Schedule

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy baseball head coach Paul Kostacopoulos and the coaching staff has announced its 52-game schedule for the 2009 campaign, 30 of which come on its home field - Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.

"Our program is excited about having a first-class facility that allows us to play 30 of our 52 games at home," stated Kostacopoulos, who enters his fourth year as head coach of the Midshipmen. "This year's schedule will really challenge us. We like being able to play quality teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference, Colonial Athletic Association and Ivy League - many of which will be coming to Annapolis."

Last year, Navy produced a 32-25-1 record with an 11-9 mark in Patriot League play and hosted the league championship. The Midshipmen welcome back six positional starters and several experienced players that will be counted on this upcoming spring.

Navy will kick off its 2009 slate with the 18th-annual Service Academy Spring Classic at USA Stadium in Millington, Tenn. The Midshipmen have won the classic title three times and posted a 2-1 mark in last year's event - with both wins coming against service-academy rival Air Force.

The Mids will fly back to Maryland and will begin a nine-game homestand with its home opener against Delaware State on Feb. 25. Navy will then host former EIBL foe Cornell in a four-game set on Feb. 28-March 1, before UMBC comes to town on March 4. The Midshipmen will close out the homestand with a three-game series against Iona on March 7-8.

Spring break will serve as a busy time for the Mids, as they will play each day between March 10-15. Navy will head to Charlotteville, Va., to take on NCAA Tournament participant Virginia for the second-straight year on March 10-11, before trekking to Princess Anne, Md., for a contest with Maryland-Eastern Shore on March 12. The Midshipmen will come back to Annapolis to host a round-robin tournament with Old Dominion, Monmouth and Massachusetts on March 13-15.

Navy will travel to Shirley Povich Field in Bethesda, Md., to take on Georgetown on March 17 before beginning a season-long 10-game homestand. That stretch will begin with a four-game series with Princeton on March 20-22, before taking on Georgetown for the second time in eight days on March 25.

The quest for Navy's sixth Patriot League title in program history begins with a pair of doubleheaders against Lafayette in Annapolis on March 28-29. Last year, the Midshipmen took three-of-four from the Leopards in a series that featured three one-run games, two of which went into extra innings. The Mids conclude the homestand with a non-league game on March 31 against Maryland.

After 10-straight games at home, Navy will play 10-consecutive road games, beginning with a Patriot League series at Lehigh on April 4-5. Following a non-league tilt at UMBC on April 7, the Midshipmen will aim to win the Star series against Army at Doubleday Field on April 11-12. Navy owns a 100-88 all-time advantage over Army in a series that dates back to 1901. The Mids will wrap up the road stretch with an in-state affair against Towson on April 14.

Navy will host defending Patriot League champion Bucknell on April 18-19 in a rematch of last year's league championship series. The Bison won a pair of one-run contests to advance to the NCAA Tournament, where they went on to shut out No. 3 Florida State in the first game of the Tallahassee Regional. Two days later on April 21, the Mids will host Maryland-Eastern Shore for a single non-league game.

The Midshipmen will complete Patriot League regular season action with a four-game set at Fitton Field against Holy Cross on April 25-26. The Mids went 5-2 against the Crusaders last spring, including a league tournament semifinal series victory. Navy won each of its four games on Holy Cross's home field during its last visit to open the 2007 league campaign.

Navy will head on the road on April 28, when it takes on Delaware State before it concludes the regular season with a three-game home series against New York Tech on May 2-3.

For the second-consecutive year, the top-four teams in the Patriot League will advance to the league tournament. The top-two seeds will host the lower-two seeds in a best-of-three semifinal series on May 9-10. The higher of the two seeds that advance from the semifinal round will play host to a best-of-three championship series on May 16-17. The winner of the Patriot League Championship will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The NCAA Tournament begins with double-elimination regional action at one of 16 sites on May 29-31. The winners of the 16 regionals will be paired into eight super regionals on June 5-7 for a best-of-three series. Those that advance from the super regional round will earn a trip to Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series on June 13-24.