A 36-game home schedule and the season-ending Atlantic 10
Conference Baseball Championships will take place at Robert and Mariam Hayes
Stadium as the Charlotte baseball program unveiled its 2013 schedule today.
The schedule features five teams that made it to the
postseason in 2012, including two Super Regional participants and one College
World Series qualifier. Of the 21 opponents on the ledger, 13 were at .500 or
better, with six programs winning 40 or more contests last year. Charlotte's
2013 opponents had a combined winning percentage of .522 last year.
"It is good to challenge our
guys and our program with quality regional opponents on the schedule," said
Charlotte head coach Loren Hibbs, starting his 21st year at the helm
of the program. "It is something we have done for years. This schedule
reflects our commitment to play the best out of conference schedule possible
while providing our fans the opportunity to watch some great college baseball
at Hayes Stadium."
Charlotte's five out-of-conference weekend series are
highlighted by College World Series participant Kent State, which has won the
last four Mid-American Conference titles. That three-game series starts Friday,
March 8.
Charlotte will take on all four in-state Atlantic Coast
Conference schools and will also host ACC opponent Virginia Tech in 2013. The
home games versus ACC foes will be Tuesday, March 5 (Wake Forest), Tuesday,
March 12 (Virginia Tech) and Tuesday, April 16 (North Carolina State). The
49ers will return the game to Wake Forest (Tuesday, February 26), meet Duke
(Wednesday, March 20 at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park) and resume play against
North Carolina (Wednesday, April 24) to finish the slate of games against teams
from the second-highest-rated conference in the RPI last season.
Charlotte also faces home-and-home weekday series against
regional foes Winthrop (home on Tuesday, April 9), Presbyterian (home on
Tuesday, April 23) and High Point (home on Tuesday, May 14).
The 49ers will also make a trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C. on Tuesday,
April 30, to renew a series with Coastal Carolina, a team not seen on the
schedule since 1994. The game will be played at Pelicans Ballpark, home of the
Myrtle Beach Pelicans professional baseball team, due to construction of the
on-campus CCU stadium. CCU has won eight of the last 11 Big South Conference
Tournaments.
The 49ers will have three home stands of seven or more games
during the season.
Atlantic 10 Conference play will commence Friday, March 22,
as Charlotte travels to Richmond for a three-game series. The 49ers will host
both league newcomers VCU (home league-opening series, March 29-31) and Butler
(May 3-5), in addition to home league weekends against George Washington (April
12-14) and defending league champ Dayton (May 10-12). Charlotte's other
conference road trips will be at Xavier (April 19-21), Temple (April 26-28) and
the season-ending series at Saint Louis (May 16-18).
Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium will be the host site for
the 2013 Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Championships, from May 22-25. The
seven-team double-elimination bracket has not yet been released by the league
office.
The season starts on Friday, February 15, with a four-game
series against 40-game winner Delaware State. That is part of a start to the
year that includes 17 out of the first 19 games at home to start the 2013
campaign.
Season ticket packages go on sale on Monday, December 3. Fans
are advised that the lower bowl was sold out before the opening game of last
season. Plans start at $49 and more information can be obtained by contacting
the 49ers Ticket Office at (704) 687-4949.