All 11 league schools in action on Friday
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The 2011 Southern Conference baseball season is ready to get underway as Friday is Opening Day for all 11 league teams.
Elon starts the action with a 3 p.m. ET first pitch scheduled at North Carolina State in Raleigh, N.C., as the Phoenix begins a three-game set with the Wolfpack.
At 4 p.m. ET, Furman hosts Ohio, Delaware is at UNCG, defending SoCon champion The Citadel entertains Gardner-Webb, Western Carolina welcomes Morehead State and Wofford is at home against Xavier.
Elsewhere, preseason favorite and 20th-ranked College of Charleston hosts Kentucky at 5 p.m. Appalachian State's first pitch is also slated for 5 p.m. when the Mountaineers battle Maryland-Eastern Shore in Forest City, N.C. Friday's action concludes with Georgetown visiting Davidson at 5:30, Georgia Southern entertaining George Washington at 6 and Western Illinois traveling to Samford at 7 p.m. ET.
The Southern Conference, which is perennially one of the top Division I baseball conferences in the country, was rated as the ninth-best league nationally out of 31 in 2010, according to various RPI ratings.
College of Charleston, The Citadel and Elon all advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago, marking the first time in league history that three teams were selected for postseason play. It also marked this sixth time in seven years that the SoCon has sent multiple teams to the NCAA playoffs.
Numerous SoCon baseball games will be video streamed throughout the season through the conference's web-streaming platform, SoCon TV. Visit SoConSports.com for updated listings and game times throughout the season.
The SoCon baseball season will culminate with the 2011 Southern Conference Baseball Championship, which will be held at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in Charleston, S.C. from May 25-29.