Jones Announces 2002 Baseball Schedule
Sep 27, 2001 | Baseball
Sept. 27, 2001
NEW ORLEANS, La. - A trip to Malibu, Calif., and games versus six teams that qualified for the 2001 NCAA Regionals highlight the Tulane University baseball team's 2002 schedule, as announced by head coach Rick Jones today.
The Green Wave's 56-game regular season schedule features 30 games to be played at Turchin Stadium and contests against in-state foe LSU and intra-city rival UNO at Zephyr Field. In addition to the Tigers and Privateers, Tulane will also battle Louisiana foes UL-Lafayette, Nicholls State and Southeastern Louisiana, as well as last year's Regional squads East Carolina, Houston, LSU, Pepperdine, Rutgers and South Florida.
"I think this year's schedule is as challenging as any schedule we've had here at Tulane during my tenure," Jones, who enters his ninth season at Tulane in 2002, said. "With the addition of East Carolina and TCU to Conference USA, the league has stepped into the 'premier league' category. Two of the top eight seeds from the 2001 NCAA Regional field (Tulane and ECU) are now members of Conference USA."
Last season, four teams currently in C-USA advanced to the NCAA postseason. In 2002, the Green Wave will take on these teams, as well as four teams that were ranked in the final Top 25 by Baseball America, Baseball Weekly and Collegiate Baseball.
Tulane opens the season on Feb. 8 with a three-game series at Pepperdine and will look to win its fourth-straight Conference USA Tournament title on May 26 when they travel to Kinston, N.C., for the league tourney. In between, the Green Wave has road games at Nicholls State and LSU, as well as C-USA opponents Houston, Memphis, UAB, Cincinnati and Louisville.
Tulane opens its home slate on Feb. 15 with a three-game series against Villanova, and will also play host to George Washington, Louisiana-Lafayette, UCLA and Rutgers before playing league foes Charlotte, Saint Louis, TCU, Louisville and Southern Mississippi in the friendly confines of Turchin Stadium.
"Pepperdine and UCLA offer the normal West Coast quality of baseball, and Rutgers features probably the best pitcher in all of college baseball in Bobby Brownie who went 7-0 for Team USA this summer," Jones added. "Our non-conference schedule, as well the teams we play from the state of Louisiana, will once again be extremely challenging."
As is custom since Jones took over the baseball program in 1994, Tulane will kick off the 2002 season in Turchin Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 2 with the annual Alumni Game where current Tulane players will take on Green Wave greats of the past.
