University of Massachusets Athletics
Baseball Announces 2003 Schedule
November 14, 2002 | Baseball
Nov. 14, 2002
AMHERST, Mass. - University of Massachusetts head baseball coach Mike Stone has announced his team's schedule for the upcoming 2003 season. The Minutemen will play 19 games in the friendly confines of Earl Lorden Field this year.
UMass will open the season with a three-game series at Southeastern Conference power Alabama (51-15 in 2002) from March 7-9. The Minutemen will then return to the south for their annual spring break trip, from March 15-20. UMass will play games against Columbia, Eastern Kentucky, Indiana, Northern Iowa and Yale in Bradenton, Fla. The Minutemen open the Atlantic 10 Conference slate with a three-game set at Duquesne (March 22-23) before returning home.
Home conference dates for the Minutemen include three-game sets with Xavier (April 5-6), Rhode Island (April 18-19), St. Bonaventure (May 3-4) and St. Joseph's (May 10-11). In addition to the series at Duquesne, UMass will hit the road for three-game conference sets at La Salle (March 29-30), Fordham (April 12-13) and Temple (April 26-27).
The 2003 Beanpot Baseball Classic is set for April 22-23 at Fenway Park in Boston, Mass. The Minutemen will look to regain the championship against Boston College, Harvard and Northeastern.
Following the conclusion of the regular season, the top six teams in the conference will qualify for the 2003 Atlantic 10 Championship, which will take place at Dodd Memorial Stadium in Norwich, Conn., from May 15-17. The two finalists from the Atlantic 10 Championship with then play a best two-out-of-three series from May 22-24, to determine the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The Minutemen return six starting position players and three of the top five pitchers from last year's squad, which posted an overall record of 21-26, with a 9-15 mark in the Atlantic 10.
