EIU Baseball Announces 2013 Schedule

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Panther head coach Jim Schmitz and the Eastern Illinois baseball team have announced the upcoming 2013 schedule. EIU will face four teams that participated in the 2012 NCAA Tournament this season.

The Panthers open the season at the Jackson State Tournament Feb. 15-17. EIU plays Texas State Feb. 15 before facing host Jackson State the following day. The Panthers also play Savannah State on Feb. 16 before concluding the tournament Feb. 17 against Jackson State.

EIU also participates in the Southern Mississippi Tournament Feb. 22-24. EIU faces host Southern Miss Feb. 22 before playing Alcorn State (Feb. 23) and Missouri State (Feb. 24).

Non-conference action continues at Southeastern Conference foes Auburn (March 1-3) and Vanderbilt (March 5). Other non-conference road contests include games at Evansville (March 12), Illinois State (March 22-24), Illinois (April 9), Saint Louis (April 16), Indiana State (May 8) and Bradley (May 14).

Ohio Valley Conference play begins at SIU Edwardsville March 8-10. EIU also has road OVC series at Jacksonville State (March 28-30), Tennessee Tech (April 12-14), Belmont (April 26-28) and Morehead State (May 10-12).

After playing 15 consecutive games on the road, the Panthers face Austin Peay March 15-17 to open the home portion of their schedule. EIU’s other home OVC series include Murray State (April 5-7), Southeast Missouri (April 19-21), Eastern Kentucky (May 3-5) and UT Martin (May 16-18).

EIU has five midweek games at Coach Stadium, beginning with a contest versus Southern Illinois on March 19. The Panthers will also face Saint Louis (March 26), Illinois State (April 2), Illinois College (April 10) and Benedictine (April 24). EIU’s annual game against Illinois at Peterson Park is slated for April 23 in Mattoon, Ill.

The OVC Tournament will be held at Pringles Park in Jackson, Tenn., May 22-26 with the top-six teams in the final regular-season standings advancing to the tournament.

The Panthers finished fourth in the OVC standings last season and advanced to the OVC Tournament finale before falling to Austin Peay.