With just over three months until the start of the season, Florida Southern College baseball head coach Lance Niekro has released his team’s schedule for the 2020 campaign. The Moccasins will play 23 home games at Rodda Stadium at Henley Field next season.
Florida Southern will also play 25 road contests and will face a total of six teams that went to last year’s NCAA Tournament, including defending national champion Tampa. In addition, two of the Mocs’ non-conference opponents, Kentucky Wesleyan and West Florida, finished as the runner-up in their respective conference tournaments.
The action begins on Jan. 31 when the Moccasins host West Florida in a three-game weekend series, with the first game slated for 6 p.m. on Friday night at Henley Field. The Argonauts went 37-18 a year ago, were ranked No. 21 in the final NCBWA Division II poll, and advanced to the NCAA South Regional after finishing as the Gulf South Conference regular-season champion and tournament runner-up.
Following the season-opening homestand with the Argos, the Moccasins hit the road to take on Eckerd in a non-conference contest on Feb. 4. The Tritons, who bucked all preseason prognostications by winning the Sunshine State Conference in 2019, finished 31-19 last season and advanced to the NCAA South Regional.
A three-game road trip to Columbus State (Feb. 7-9) is followed by a three-game series against Lincoln Memorial (Feb. 14-15). The Railsplitters went 34-19 last season and advanced to the Southeast Regional.
A stiff test awaits Florida Southern to open SSC action when the Mocs travel to defending national champion Tampa for three games (Feb. 21-22). The Spartans went 45-14 last season en route to their eighth NCAA Division II National Championship.
Another three-game SSC series at Barry (Feb. 28 – Mar. 1) follows the Tampa series, and the Moccasins will then return home for a single game against Kentucky Wesleyan (Mar. 4), a three-game series with Northwood (Mar. 6-8) and a single game against Winona State (Mar. 10).
Kentucky Wesleyan, which went 30-22 last season, narrowly missed out on the NCAA Tournament with a runner-up finish in the GMAC Tournament. The final non-conference games of the year will come at Montevallo, a three-game set from Mar. 13-15, with the remainder of the schedule coming in conference action.
The remaining SSC slate includes home series with Eckerd (Mar. 20-21), Florida Tech (Mar. 27-28), Lynn (April 17-18), and Nova Southeastern (April 30 – May 1). The SSC road series come at Embry-Riddle (April 3-5), Rollins (April 9-11), Palm Beach Atlantic (April 24-25), and Saint Leo (May 8-10). Both Embry-Riddle and Nova Southeastern advanced to the NCAA South Regional in 2019.
The 2020 NCAA Division II Baseball Championships will once again be played at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, N.C. from May 30 – June 6. To see the complete 2020 schedule for Florida Southern baseball, click here.