EDWARDSVILLE – SIUE baseball Head Coach Tony Stoecklin announced his 2016 schedule, which features 20 home games at Simmons Baseball Complex.
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The slate opens Feb. 19-21 with a three-game series at Louisville. The Cardinals, who came within a game of the College World Series in 2015, finished last season with a 47-18 record. The Cougars then visit Memphis for a three-game series Feb. 26-28. Memphis fell in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament a year ago and won 21 home games.
SIUE will face Missouri State, of the Missouri Valley Conference, March 4-6 in Springfield, Missouri. The Bears season also ended in the NCAA super-regionals where they fell to Arkansas. Missouri State won 49 games last season.
"Obviously we're starting the season with three difficult road series," Stoecklin said. "I'm looking forward to the challenge."
A single game at Indiana State March 8 precedes Ohio Valley Conference play, which begins at home with Jacksonville State March 11-13.
"I believe that we're battle tested, so-to-speak, when we enter conference play," Stoecklin said. "The value of playing quality competition early in the season is very important."
SIUE also will play home OVC series with Tennessee Tech (March 24-26), Belmont (April 8-10), defending OVC Tournament champion Morehead State (April 22-24) and Austin Peay (May 13-15).
The Cougars will travel for conference series at Murray State (March 18-20), two-time defending regular season champion Southeast Missouri (April 1-3), Eastern Kentucky (April 15-17), UT Martin (April 29-May 1) and Eastern Illinois (May 19-21).
"(The OVC) is a difficult league regardless of who you play," Stoecklin added. "If you look at the standings, and see who has been second through eighth or ninth it has been a different rotation of teams."
SIUE has finished in the top four in each of the last two seasons. In 2015, the Cougars were 19-11 in OVC play, setting a program record for OVC wins and achieving their highest OVC finish (third).
"What it boils down to is that you have to be prepared to play your best every weekend or you're not going to get the outcome that you want."
The Cougars will travel to Air Force, May 6-8, for a three-game series during their bye weekend from OVC play.
SIUE will play home midweek games with Evansville (March 16), Saint Louis (March 22), Illinois State (April 19), Western Illinois (March 20) and Bradley (May 17).
The OVC tournament, played in Jackson, Tennessee, will begin May 25.