SIUE Announces 2022 Baseball Schedule

SIUE is scheduled to play 29 nonconference games in addition to a 24-game Ohio Valley Conference schedule.

"We have a nice schedule with trips to different locales that we haven't been to in a while," Lyons said.

The Cougars will open the season with a three-game set at Southeastern Louisiana (Feb. 18-20) before opening the home schedule with a single game with Saint Louis (Feb. 22). SIUE also will play nonconference weekend series at Mercer (Feb. 25-27) and Memphis (March 18-20).

"I really like our schedule," Lyons said. "The first two weekends are tough. Both of those teams were 30-35 game winners last year."

The Cougars will play host to nonconference series with Western Michigan (March 4-6) and Oakland (Mar.11-13) ahead of the OVC season.

"Getting to play two more nonconference weekends before we start OVC play will be nice," Lyons added.

The Cougars also will meet Siena in Carbondale, Illinois, for a pair of nonconference games (and also play the Salukis) over Easter weekend (April 15-16).

"Siena worked out in that we're able to jump in with them and Carbondale," Lyons said. "It was nice for Coach (Lance) Rhodes at Carbondale to allow us to get in there."

SIUE will play weekday single games on the road at SIU Carbondale (March 8), Missouri (March 30), Saint Louis (April 5), Western Illinois (April 19) and Evansville (May 11).

In addition to the home opener with Saint Louis, weekday games at Simmons Complex include Western Illinois (March 16), Evansville (March 23), Bradley (April 12), Illinois State (April 26) and SIU Carbondale (May 10).

SIUE opens OVC play on the road with a weekend series against defending regular season and tournament champion Southeast Missouri (March 25-27).

The Cougars also will travel for weekend OVC series at Eastern Illinois (April 8-10), Murray State (April 29-May 1) and Morehead State (May 13-15).

Home series in conference play feature UT Martin (April 1-3), Austin Peay (April 22-24), Tennessee Tech (May 6-8) and Belmont (May 19-21).

The OVC has shifted back to three-game series in three days, after utilizing doublheaders during the 2021 season.

"A game per day is nice because it will truly show the depth of your pitching staffs," Lyons said. "The doubleheaders were tough because there were a lot of splits. Potentially there may be more of an opportunity for sweeps in either direction. They were long days with 18 innings of baseball on those days."

The OVC tournament will be held at Lexington Legends Ballpark in Lexington, Kentucky, for the first time May 25-May 28. The tournament format also has been altered. The top eight teams will make the field, with the top two seeds receiving byes to the second day. The first day features four single-elimination games.

"It's going to be really important to try to get to the top of the league before going to the tournament," Lyons said. "More teams will be involved in postseason play, and I think that is good for the league."