Baseball Announces 2017 Schedule
11/3/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Spartanburg, S.C. – A total of 39 games at Cleveland S. Harley Baseball Park highlights the 2017 USC Upstate baseball schedule released by head coach Matt Fincher this morning. The Spartans will face three schools that qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2016.
"We're excited about this year's schedule," head coach Matt Fincher said. "We're looking forward to opening with Virginia Tech and will enjoy the opportunity to play at Harley Park early in the season. Our non-conference matchups will do a good job of preparing us for an always challenging ASUN schedule."
Of the 39 home contests, the Spartans will play eight home games against Power Five schools. Upstate opens the season on Feb. 17 with a weekend series against Virginia Tech and will remain at home for the remainder of the month with games against UNC Asheville (Feb. 22), Georgetown (Feb. 24), Dayton (Feb. 25), James Madison (Feb. 26) and Furman (Feb. 28).
Upstate will play its first road contest of the season at Charleston Southern to open March before opening a nine-game homestand against 2016 Horizon League tournament champion Wright State on March 3. The Spartans will host Pittsburgh in a doubleheader the next day before closing out the weekend the first of three games this season against crosstown rival Wofford. Spring Break finds the Spartans at Harley Park with games against Longwood (March 7), La Salle (March 8, 10 and 12) and Monmouth (March 11).
Following a midweek visit to Wofford (March 15), the Spartans remain at home with weekend series against Quinnipiac (March 17-19) and Rutgers (March 24-26) along with midweek contests against Charleston Southern (March 21) and Presbyterian College (March 22). A week after their home game against Charleston Southern, the Spartans and Buccaneers will meet in Lexington, S.C. for a neutral site contest on March 28.
ASUN play begins with a home series against Lipscomb (March 31-April 2) before a season-long nine game roadtrip against Gardner-Webb (April 5), Kennesaw State (April 7-9) Furman (April 11) Florida Gulf Coast (April 13-15) and UNC Asheville (April 18). A visit from Stetson (April 21-23) wraps up the month.
After a break for exams, the Spartans kick off May with a trip to Presbyterian College (May 3) before a home weekend series against North Florida (May 5-7) and a weeknight game against Wofford (May 10). The final road conference weekend features a trip to Jacksonville (May 12-14) followed by a Tuesday night contest at South Carolina on May 16. The final ASUN series of the season takes place with a visit from NJIT (May 18-20).
Follow Upstate baseball on your mobile device, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
