ERIE, Pa. - The Penn State Behrend baseball team has officially released its 2014 schedule on Tuesday.
"We are really looking forward to the challenges of the 2014 schedule," said head coach Paul Benim, who is set to begin his 23rd season as a head coach at Behrend. "Our program still has to put in plenty of work before we are ready to play, but the upcoming slate will test us right out of the gate and continue to encourage us to be ready to play hard every day."
The Lions will open with three new opponents at the Spalding College Tournament in Louisville, KY. Behrend will play Earlham, Wabash and the hosts. After the weekend in Kentucky, Behrend will then travel to spring training in Fort Pierce, Florida. The Lions expect to play eight varsity and three junior varsity games during the weeklong visit to the sunshine state. "The spring training trip will be exciting," said assistant coach Jay Condit. "We will have several new faces in the line-up and they will have their chance to make an impact right away. We will rely on our senior led pitching staff to carry us early."
The Behrend Lions home schedule features eight dates against AMCC competition which includes Pitt-Bradford, Altoona, Medaille, and Pitt-Greensburg traveling to Erie. Additional home games against traditional regional opponents include Fredonia, Thiel, and Allegheny. First-time encounters on the schedule include both Houghton and Juniata coming to the Behrend diamond.
On the road, Behrend will face similar challenges. The schedule is highlighted by trips to Waynesburg, Mt. Union, Otterbein and eight league games.
The AMCC Championship will begin with first-round action on May 3, followed by the second-round double elimination tournament at the regular-season champion on May 10.
"This schedule will test us, but we will be ready for it," Benim said. "The goal is to improve daily and put ourselves in position to compete for a league championship at year's end." The Lions won the 2013 AMCC Championship with a 9-5 victory over La Roche last May and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time.
Behrend must replace nine graduated seniors from last season's 30-12 team, but will rely on 20 returning letterwinners.
The Lions have been one of the premier programs in the Northeast, winning 393 games since 2000.
