Baseball Southern Conference

Georgia Southern Announces 2005 Baseball Schedule

STATESBORO, Ga.-- Fifteen games against NCAA Regional teams Charleston, The Citadel, Florida Atlantic, Georgia and Georgia Tech highlight the Georgia Southern baseball team's 2005 schedule, as announced by Head Coach Rodney Hennon Wednesday.

Georgia Southern will christen a rebuilt J.I. Clements Stadium on Feb. 12 at 1:30 p.m. for the start of a two-game series with intrastate foe Georgia Tech. After traveling for a game at Jacksonville, the Eagles will return to Statesboro for a three-game set against George Washington, a team that finished 41-18 last season.

Following the series with the Colonials, the Eagles will travel north to Athens to face Georgia, one of the final four teams in the 2004 College World Series, from Feb. 26-27 before heading to Atlanta to face off with Georgia Tech once more, on March 1-2. Georgia Southern's second-to-last opponent will come in a home game with Florida Atlantic, who tallied a record of 47-17 last season, on May 17.

Other non-conference opponents set to visit Statesboro include Buffalo and a quartet of Atlantic Sun teams in Gardner-Webb, Georgia State, Mercer and Jacksonville.

Said Hennon about the Eagles' non-conference slate, "It's very important to put us in a position to compete in the NCAA Regional and to advance to [the College World Series in] Omaha. Competing against teams of this caliber early on helps to build consistency in the NCAA Regional."

The Eagles' Southern Conference season begins March 11, as Georgia Southern opens a three-game home tilt with Davidson. In addition to the Wildcats, league foes set to play in J.I. Clements Stadium include College of Charleston, Elon, Furman and Wofford.

On the road, Georgia Southern travels to battle Appalachian State, East Tennessee State, UNC Greensboro and Western Carolina, before closing the regular season against defending conference champs The Citadel on May 19-21 in Charleston, S.C. The Eagles will return to Charleston soon after, as they begin the SoCon Tournament at Joe Riley Park on May 25.

"The league continues to get better," added Hennon. "We get a good test in February against teams like Georgia Tech, George Washington, Jacksonville and Georgia. It's good preparation for league play."

Georgia Southern returns seven starters and 21 letterwinners from last year's club, which finished with an overall 34-25 record. The Eagles added a 21-9 mark in conference play, placing them in second place.