SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Southern Conference announced the 2021 baseball conference schedule Friday afternoon, with the league’s eight teams divided into two divisions and competing in 10 three-game series beginning the weekend of March 19-21. The regular season ends the weekend of May 21, before the 2021 SoCon Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases takes place at Fluor Field in Greenville, South Carolina, from May 27-29. 
 
The decision to revise the conference schedule from seven to 10 weeks allows for each team to compete in a total of 30 conference games and ensure games would still be played if nonconference games are canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. The league’s directors of athletics voted to approve the change. 
 
The conference’s eight teams are divided into two divisions for scheduling purposes with an eye toward competitive balance. The Red Division includes The Citadel, Mercer, Western Carolina and Wofford, while the Blue Division is composed of ESTU, UNCG, Samford and VMI. Each squad will play a pair of three-game series against every other team in its division and a single series against the teams from the other division. For league series, schools will host three games over two days. The decision is left up to the hosting team whether to play a single game and doubleheader on either Friday and Saturday or Saturday and Sunday.
 
2019 SoCon regular-season champion Samford opens conference action against the UNCG Spartans in Greensboro, North Carolina, on March 19. The Bulldogs are led by Casey Dunn, who received coach of the year honors after Samford’s successful 2019 campaign. The squad went 13-2 overall in 2020 before the remainder of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
 
Mercer, the 2019 SoCon baseball tournament champion, opens its SoCon slate at home against Western Carolina and seeks to reclaim the title this season. The Bears went 35-29 overall in 2019, beating No. 1 seed Samford and No. 2 seed Wofford in the final two days of the tournament to take home the crown. 
 
The league’s two teams from South Carolina will open the 2021 conference season when Wofford travels to Charleston to take on The Citadel. ETSU will host VMI at Thomas Stadium, as the Keydets go on the road to Johnson City, Tennessee, for their conference opener on March 19.
 
The 2020 Southern Conference Baseball Championship was cancelled after the league’s Council of Presidents and directors of athletics unanimously voted to cancel all athletics-related activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
View the full 2021 baseball conference schedule here.