LEBANON, Tenn. – Cumberland University baseball coach Woody Hunt announced the 2011 schedule this week, which features 31 home games, two contests at Veterans Field in Lebanon and eight opponents ranked in the 2011 NAIA Baseball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll.
The Bulldogs, ranked No. 1 in the Coaches’ Preseason Poll announced last week, open the season February 11-13 at Ernest L. Stockton Field-Woody Hunt Stadium against Missouri Baptist and St. Francis-Fort Wayne. CU will head to Jackson, Miss., the next weekend for contests against McKendree University and Belhaven University.
Cumberland then hosts Brewton-Parker in a three-game series and Indiana Tech in a doubleheader the last weekend of February before beginning TranSouth Conference action the first week of March at Freed-Hardeman. The Bulldogs will continue west after the FHU series for Spring Break, taking on Texas Wesleyan and Northwood University in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and playing LSU-Shreveport on the way home.
Rival Trevecca Nazarene will await the club for a three-game series at home at the end of Spring Break. The series with the Trojans begins a stretch of 16-of-20 games at home, which includes a pair of contests at Veterans Field – March 22 versus Campbellsville University and April 5 against Lindsey Wilson.
During the long homestand the Bulldogs will entertain Embry-Riddle in a pair of contests as well as Georgetown College and Union University. Cumberland also plays weekend home conference series against Martin Methodist and Mid-Continent in the month of April before the TranSouth Championships scheduled for May 2-5.
In all the Bulldogs will play 14 games against teams ranked in the Preseason Top 25 against Lee University, Embry-Riddle, Belhaven, LSU-Shreveport, Tennessee Wesleyan, Union University, Campbellsville and Brewton-Parker. In addition the Bulldogs will play another 10 contests against teams in the receiving votes category of the Preseason Poll, including Northwood, Texas Wesleyan, Indiana Tech, Trevecca Nazarene and Bethel University.
Four clubs on the schedule participated in the 2010 NAIA World Series – Lee, Belhaven, Embry-Riddle and Tennessee Wesleyan – while six others played in the 2010 NAIA Championships Opening Round – Brewton-Parker, Campbellsville, Indiana Tech, LSU-Shreveport, Missouri Baptist and Union Univ.
The full 2011 schedule may be found at http://www.gocumberlandathletics.com/baseball/schedule/.
