ERIE, Pa. - The Penn State Behrend baseball team has released the schedule for the upcoming 2024 season. The Lions will embark on a 40-game regular season schedule.
"We are fired up for the challenges of the spring season," said head coach Paul Benim, who is set to begin his 29th season guiding the program. "We will look different with the graduation of 14 seniors last May, however the incoming class has ability and has worked hard this winter. We are excited how we will look late in the season."
The Lions will open the season at Lancaster Bible at the end of February. The following weekend, the Lions will travel to Florida for their annual spring training trip. In Fort Pierce, Florida, Behrend will play eight varsity and a couple JV games. "This is a great group of young men who love the game and work hard every day," said senior captain, Jeff Zick. "The upperclassmen have influenced a championship mindset throughout the team. We are excited to get back out on the field and build off our ECAC Title from last year and reach our goal of winning the AMCC Tournament."
The home opener for the Lions will be on March 16th as they battle Mt. Union. That will be the first of twelve dates Behrend will defend their home field. Behrend opens conference play at home against Pitt-Bradford on April 2. The remaining home conference games will be against La Roche, Pitt-Greensburg, and new AMCC member, Wells. Allegheny, Grove City, Hiram, Thiel, Westminster, will also make the trip to Erie this year for non-conference games.
Behrend's road conference opponents this year are Alfred State, Hilbert, Mount Aloysius, and Penn State Altoona. In addition, Behrend will travel to Franciscan and Waynesburg for non-conference action.
In addition, the Fredonia State Blue Devils will battle the blue and white in a home and home series for the I-90 Cup on March 28 and April 16.The first round of the AMCC tournament will be held on May 4, followed by the second-round double elimination tournament hosted by the regular season champion May 9-12. Last season the blue and white won a hard fought ECAC Championship on the road at Alvernia. The previous two seasons, Behrend earned the AMCC Conference Tournament title and a league regular season championship.
"Although we have a young team this year, this is one of the hungriest teams I have been a part of," said senior outfielder Anthony Slate. "We have some older guys that know what it takes to win a championship. We understand it is not going to be easy but we are willing to do what it takes each and every day to get where we want to be. I am eager to see what we are able to accomplish together this spring."
