University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Release 2010 Baseball Schedule
September 01, 2009 | Baseball
Sept. 1, 2009
By Cameron Harris, Assistant Media Relations Director
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee baseball team and Head Coach Todd Raleigh announced the schedule for the 2010 season on Monday. Highlighting the slate are a total of 34 games against teams that made the NCAA Tournament last year, including three-game home series against national champion LSU, Xavier, Florida, Vanderbilt and Alabama.
In all, 14 teams on the 2010 schedule appeared in the NCAA Tournament last season, four have appeared in the College World Series in the past three years and seven either won or tied for their conference championship in 2009.
"We feel that we have put together one of the strongest schedules in the country," Raleigh said. "Not many other teams are going to be able to say that they will play 34 games against NCAA Tournament teams. With 20 of those games at our home park, we think it is going to create a very exciting atmosphere for both our fans and players."
Fans of the Orange and White will first get a chance to see their team in action against 2009 Atlantic 10 champion Xavier in the opening weekend of play, Feb. 19-21. From there, the Volunteers will make the cross-country trip to Portland, Ore., where they will take on two-time national champion Oregon State at PGE Park, home of the Portland Beavers, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres.
Following a mid-week contest against Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee will host its first of two tournaments when it welcomes Kennesaw State and 2009 America East champion Binghamton to Rocky Top, March 6-7. UT will then hit the road for games against Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee State before returning to Lindsey Nelson Stadium for the second tournament, which will include games against Connecticut, Big Ten winner Ohio State and Marshall the next weekend, March 12-13.
The Vols will begin the SEC portion of their schedule March 19-21 in Columbia, S.C. against South Carolina. The first home series will take place the following weekend as reigning national champion LSU makes the trip to Knoxville. Tennessee was the only team to win two games against the Tigers during a weekend series last season.
The Big Orange will also host three-game sets against Florida, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Alabama, while it will travel for weekend showdowns with Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Georgia and Auburn. UT will not play Arkansas during the 2010 regular season.
Other non-conference foes for Tennessee include USC Upstate, Ohio Valley Conference champion Tennessee Tech, Presbyterian College, Western Carolina, Belmont and UNC-Asheville.
The 2010 SEC Tournament, which features the league's top-eight finishers in the regular season, is set for May 26-31 at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala. NCAA Regional action takes place June 4-7, followed by NCAA Super Regional play, June 11-14.
The NCAA College World Series will take place at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb., for the 60th and final time, June 19-30, 2010. The competition will be moved to a new ballpark downtown in 2011. Tennessee has made four previous appearances at the College World Series (1951, 1995, 2001 and 2005).
