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COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Traditional in-state rivalries, some
teams they haven’t seen in awhile, a typically tough 24-game
Ohio Valley Conference schedule and 29 homes games highlight
Tennessee Tech’s 56-game 2010 baseball schedule, announced
this week by head coach Matt Bragga.
In the first several weeks Tech meets teams either for the first
time or the first time in recent memory, including series against
Georgia Southern, Cleveland State, Bradley, South Alabama, Buffalo,
Memphis and SIU-Edwardsville.
The schedule also includes familiar rivals such as Belmont,
Lipscomb, Middle Tennessee and East Tennessee.
“We think it’s a great schedule that will present a lot
of exciting challenges for our team,” Bragga said.
Among Tech’s 29 home contests are four OVC weekend series
against Eastern Illinois, Morehead State, Austin Peay and Murray
State. The Golden Eagles face conference road series at
Jacksonville State, Southeast Missouri, Eastern Kentucky and Murray
State.
Does Bragga think there will be a “target” on
Tech’s back after winning the OVC Tournament last year?
“That’s a good thing,” Bragga said. “There
are some really good teams in our conference and we look forward to
the challenge. Hopefully we can have that kind of target every
year.
“Our conference is a great baseball conference and it’s
getting better every year. Last year our league won seven and lost
eight against the SEC. We were darn near .500 against what is
always the best baseball conference in the country. We got some big
wins in our conference, and I think our league is an absolutely
fantastic baseball conference.”
In addition to those early-season non-conference series, the Golden
Eagles also have single games against Vanderbilt and Tennessee,
plus home-and-home contests against in-state rivals East Tennessee,
Middle Tennessee Belmont and Lipscomb.
“Those are some of our traditional non-conference rivals.
They’re down the road an hour, hour-and-a-half, and a lot of
guys know each other on those teams. We usually have some great
games and it’s a great atmosphere for competition.
They’re all good baseball teams,” Bragga said.
The 2010 slate gets underway Feb. 19-21 when the Golden Eagles head
to Statesboro, Ga., to face one of their toughest obstacles, the
Georgia Southern Eagle, in a three-game series. Last year, GSU
posted a 42-17 overall record and captured the Southern Conference
tournament crown to advance to the NCAA field for the 13th
time.
“Georgia Southern won the SoCon tournament, which is an
extremely strong baseball conference,” Bragga said.
“It’s a great ballpark and it will be a nice way to
kick off the season.”
A week later, Tech’s home schedule begins when Cleveland
State visits Feb. 26-28 for a three-game set.
Other non-conference home games in the first half of the schedule
find Tech hosting Bradley for three game (March 6-7), Buffalo for
four (March 12-14) and SIU Edwardsville (March 26-28) for
three.
“SIU Edwardsville is still considered a non-conference game
but they will be in the OVC in a couple years so it will be fun to
start playing a team that will be a conference opponent
soon,” Bragga said.
Single-date home games in the second half of the season bring
visits from Lipscomb (April 7), Belmont (April 13), East Tennessee
(April 28), Middle Tennessee (May 11) and Western Carolina (May
18).
Bragga will take his squad on the road for series at South Alabama
(March 9-10) and Memphis (March 19-21). The Golden Eagles face
single-game trips to Vanderbilt (March 2), East Tennessee (March
17), Belmont (Marc 23), Tennessee (March 30), Lipscomb (April 6)
and Middle Tennessee (April 20).
The OVC Tournament, which moves to Pringles Stadium in Jackson,
Tenn., is scheduled for May 26-30 for he teams which finish in the
top six places in the standings. Last year, the Golden Eagles
captured the OVC Tournament title under Bragga and advanced to the
NCAA Clemson Regional. This year’s NCAA Regionals are
scheduled for June 5-8.