ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop head baseball coach Joe Hudak has announced the Eagles will play a challenging 54-game schedule in 2008, which includes 31 games at the recently renovated Winthrop Ballpark and a trip to Texas to play Conference USA powerhouse Rice.

“I believe that, top to bottom, this is the most difficult schedule we have played in my 17 years here at Winthrop,” said Hudak. “Outside the Big South, we only play five teams that had a losing record last year. Two of those are Georgia and Southern California, both of whom are expected to compete for their conference championship this year. The schedule will a great challenge for our young club, particularly our young pitching staff. However, we are all excited to see how we stack up against some of the best teams in the country.”

The Eagles open their schedule with 12 straight games at home as they host two tournaments in a row and hosts ACC school Wake Forest in a single game and PAC 10 member Southern California in a three-game series.

The Jonny Gill Memorial will have the presence of Evansville, St. John’s, who captured last year’s Big East Conference Title, and Gardner-Webb, while the Coca-Cola Classic will feature ACC power North Carolina, St. John’s and Kent State.

“I am especially pleased at the caliber of competition coming to Rock Hill and the Winthrop Ballpark. The first two weekend tournaments will showcase some great baseball,” said Hudak. “This will be a great year for the people of Rock Hill and York County to watch some exciting college baseball. We trust that the community will support our players against this challenging schedule.”

In the middle of March, the Eagles fly to Texas for a four-game series against Rice in Houston.

Big South Conference schedule starts in the last week of March as the Eagles pay a visit to VMI.

“There is no doubt the Big South Conference is getting stronger and stronger,” said Hudak. “Obviously, Coastal has a tremendous program. The job Gary Gilmore has done their over the past 7-8 years is as good as any coach in the country. Liberty, Radford, VMI, and High Point have all made significant increases in their commitment to baseball. UNC-Asheville is getting better every year. Jason Murray does a good job at Charleston Southern in spite of their lack of commitment to baseball. It is great to see how far the conference has come, and I am very excited about its future.”

The Eagles will have a tough challenge in the first week of March as they face defending conference champion Coastal Carolina in Conway.

Besides playing the Chanticleers in the first week, Winthrop’s month of April will be highlighted by conference match-ups against High Point and Liberty at home, and vs. Charleston Southern on the road as well as by midweek games against Georgia and Charlotte.

May will be mainly devoted to conference action with series at home against Radford and away against UNC Asheville. Winthrop also visits World Series runner-up North Carolina in a midweek game.

“When you look at our schedule, you start with four games at Rice, who could be ranked number one in pre-season polls,” said Hudak. “Then you see we play two, and possibly three, against national runner-up North Carolina, and  three, and possibly four, against Big East Champion St. John’s. Then you add seven games against regular NCAA tournament teams Evansville, College of Charleston, Citadel, and Elon. Finally, you add the three games against Southern Cal and the game at Georgia. It is indeed a challenging non-conference schedule.”

The 2008 Big South Conference Tournament will be hosted by Liberty and will be played at the Dan Daniel Memorial Park in Danville, VA.