Nov. 21, 2007
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -
2008 Memphis Baseball Schedule 
After putting together a schedule that helped Memphis earn first NCAA Regional bid in 13 years, Head Coach Daron Schoenrock and his young Tiger squad will again face a challenging 56-game lineup for the 2008 season as they look to reach postseason play for the second straight year.
"Once again, along with the tough C-USA schedule, our non-conference schedule will be attractive to the Regional Selection committee as one of the stronger non-conference schedules in the country," said Schoenrock. "If we can win some games like we did last year, we can put ourselves in position to earn consideration."
Memphis played 19 games against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2007, and this year's slate will feature more of that same type of scheduling. The Tigers will play 18 regular season tilts against nine teams that earned 2007 NCAA Regional bids.
The U of M's 31-game home slate is highlighted by a strong collection of marquee matchups that include 27 games at Nat Buring Stadium and two games each at AutoZone Park, and Pringles Park in Jackson, Tenn. Memphis will host a combined four games against Vanderbilt (May 6 at Pringles Park) and C-USA foe, Rice (April 4-6 at Nat Buring). The Commodores went 51-11 in the 2007 regular season en route to hauling in the No. 1 seed in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. The Owls picked up the nation's No. 2 seed after racing to a 49-12 mark and winning both the C-USA regular season and Conference Championship.
Other regional contests include home-and-home matchups versus Ole Miss and Mississippi State. The Tigers welcome the Bulldogs and Rebels to AutoZone Park on April 1 and April 8, respectively. Memphis will make the return trip to Oxford on Apr. 2, and will travel to Starkville on May 13. The Bulldogs, who finished 38-20 in 2007, are fresh off a College World Series appearance, while Ole Miss advanced to the Super Regionals. In a program first, The Tigers will give fans in Jackson, Tenn., and it's surrounding areas an opportunity to come watch them in a home contest as they host Austin Peay on March 25, in the program's first-ever game at Pringles Park--home of the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx, Class AA affiliate of the Chicago Cubs.
Memphis will play eight Conference weekend series, with four of those sets coming to the Bluff City. The Tigers will host UAB in the opening weekend on C-USA action on Mar. 21-23, before hosting Rice. Tulane will come to town April 25-27 and a home series versus the Pirates of East Carolina will round out regular season play on May 15-17. The Tigers will hit the road for league series against Marshall (Mar. 28-30), UCF (Apr. 11-13), Houston (May 2-4) and Southern Miss (May 9-11).
The Tigers will open the '08 schedule at the Service Academies Spring Classic at USA Stadium in Millington, when they take on Seton Hall at 4 p.m. on Fri., Feb. 22. The Nat Buring season-opener is slated for Feb. 26 against UT-Martin at 4 p.m.
Schoenrock's Tigers will hit the road for the first time in early March, when they travel to Athens, Ga., to battle the Georgia Bulldogs in a three-game set, Mar. 7-9. The Bulldogs struggled in 2007, but were a CWS participant in 2006.
