ERIE, Pa. - The Penn State Behrend baseball team has released the schedule for the upcoming 2023 season. The Lions will embark on a 40-game regular season schedule across five different states.
"We are going to rely on the strength of 15 seniors as we begin the season," said head coach Paul Benim, who is read to begin his 28th season guiding the program. "The entire roster will get work down south and it will serve us well when we getting into league play up north."
The Lions will open the season in Danville, Kentucky for two games against Centre College and one game against Dominican University. 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 two JV games.
"The team has been working hard this off-season with high expectations on this upcoming year," said senior captain, Isaac Stouffer. "We look to start our season strong on our road trips to Kentucky and Florida. We are excited for the year and are going to compete one game at a time."
Behrend will return home and take a trip to Muskingum University for three games; one against Muskingum and two against Olivet College. They will travel to Hiram College for a doubleheader the following weekend.
The home opener for the Lions will be on March 28th as they take on the Fredonia Blue Devils for the I-90 Cup. That will be the first of seven dates Behrend will defend their home field. Behrend opens conference play at home against La Roche on April 1. The remaining home conference games will be against Pitt-Bradford, Pitt-Greensburg, and Penn State Altoona. Waynesburg and Franciscan will also make the trip to Erie this year for non-conference games.
Behrend's road conference opponents this year are Hilbert, Mount Aloysius, and Alfred State. In addition, Behrend will travel to Allegheny, Mount Union, Grove City, Westminster, and Thiel for non-conference action.
The first round of the AMCC tournament will be held on May 6, followed by the second-round double elimination tournament hosted by the regular season champion May 11-13. A year ago, the Behrend Lions won the AMCC regular-season title with a 14-2 league mark, fell in the AMCC Championship and earned an opportunity to play in the ECAC Regional while posting a league-high 27 wins.
"We're all excited to get back out on the field," said senior outfielder Colin Harger. "This season is full of opportunities for us but we just need to lock in one game at a time."
