UMass Lowell baseball announced a 50-game schedule for 2012 that features season-opening trips to New Jersey and Florida, the 21-game Northeast-10 slate and a grueling non-conference schedule to test the highly-touted River Hawks.
The River Hawks will host 15 home games at LeLacheur Park and take part in 35 road/neutral contests.
With the NE-10 now divided, UMass Lowell will play 21 conference games against Northeast Division members Bentley, Franklin Pierce, Merrimack, Saint Anselm, Saint Michael's, Southern New Hampshire and Stonehill. The River Hawks will also take part in several non-conference games against Southwest Divisions foes Adelphi, American International, Le Moyne, New Haven, Saint Rose and Southern Connecticut.
"This year's schedule is a little tougher than in the past because we have a veteran team and we want to be battle tested," said head coach Ken Harring. "We're trying to prepare ourselves and give ourselves the best opportunity to have success in the postseason as our ultimate goal is always to play the NCAA Tournament."
Coach Harring will lead his troops to Diamond Nation in Flemington, NJ on Feb. 25 to open the year with a clash against the University of Sciences. UMass Lowell stays at Diamond Nation for a double-header with St. Thomas Aquinas and four games against Mansfield.
The River Hawks will then fly south for their annual Florida trip, featuring 11 games in nine days. On the trip, the club will face 2011 NCAA East Regional teams Adelphi and Dowling, a 30-win Florida Tech squad and regional opponents Mercy, Philadelphia and Wilmington.
UMass Lowell makes its home debut on Mar. 28 against Stonehill College at LeLacheur Park at 3:30 p.m.
Coming off a tremendously successful 37-14 season in 2011, the River Hawks look to be among the Northeast-10's elite again. UMass Lowell received a NCAA Tournament berth to the East Regional, eliminating Dowling before falling to Franklin Pierce.
After the season, the River Hawks received a litany of honors as Cam Kneeland (Rowley, Mass.) was named to the All-East Region First Team by both the American Baseball Coaches Association and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. The ABCA also awarded centerfielder Matt Jacobs (Hudson, Mass.) a Rawlings' Gold Glove for his outstanding defensive play.
Perhaps the greatest achievement came in June as starting pitcher Jack Leathersich (Beverly, Mass.) was selected in the fifth round of the 2011 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the New York Mets.
