BASEBALL ANNOUNCES 2023 SCHEDULE

By Press release submission

Nov 17, 2022

With eyes on a third-straight Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament bid, VCU Baseball and first-year head coach Bradley LeCroy have announced a 2023 schedule that is highlighted by hosting the A-10 Tournament, a visit from Virginia and a weekend visit to The Diamond from Richmond.

VCU opens the season in Conway, S.C. with a matchup against Middle Tennessee on Feb. 17. The Rams open The Diamond for 2023 on Feb. 24 when VCU plays host to Sacred Heart.

The Rams are coming off a season in which they won 42 games, the third most in program history, an A-10 Tournament championship and a visit to Chapel Hill, N.C. for the 2022 NCAA Regionals. At those 2022 Chapel Hill Regionals, the Rams knocked off the Southeastern Conference's Georgia Bulldogs, along with a win over host No. 10 North Carolina on their way to finishing a historic season.

"This year we have a great schedule that has us facing in-state rivals, Atlantic 10 rivals, former College World Series opponents, Super Regional opponents, and multiple games against teams that were in the NCAA Championship field this past spring," said LeCroy. "This slate will challenge our team to get ready for A-10 play. Our goal every year in putting together the schedule is to build it in such a way that if we take care of business in and out of the league, we will have amassed a strong resume for post-season consideration."

VCU returns 15 players who saw significant action during the 2022 season, including four starters in the field and five pitchers from a staff that boasted a team ERA of 3.91. Redshirt-junior and 2022 All-Atlantic 10 Second Team honoree Will Carlone highlights the returning position players, while junior starting left-handed pitcher Campbell Ellis returns to again lead the VCU staff.

The Rams open the season in Conway where they will take part in a weekend tournament (Feb. 17-19) hosted by South Carolina. The Rams will take on Middle Tennessee and Fairfield, before facing the hosting Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.

The Diamond opens on Feb. 24 with a weekend series against visiting Sacred Heart. The Rams then return to Chapel Hill, to face North Carolina in a 2022 NCAA Regionals rematch with those games taking place on Feb. 28 and March 1.

Canisius, West Virginia and Fairfield pay a visit to The Diamond over the weekend of March 3-5 to take part in the annual Central Virginia Classic. The Rams then return to the road with a pair of midweek games, the first of the season, when they visit Liberty on March 7 and James Madison on March 8.

VCU returns to The Diamond for the first of eight-straight home games and it starts with a three-game weekend visit from the Ivy League's Cornell Big Red from March 10-12. On March 14, the Rams play host to their first home midweek game when JMU visits and over the weekend of March 17-19 the New Jersey Institute of Technology makes the trip south from New Jersey.

Longwood wraps up the eight-game home stand on March 21.

On the weekend of March 24-26, the Rams return to the road when they visit Tampa, Fla. and the South Florida Bulls. When the Rams make the trip to Tampa it will be their first road games since a March 8 visit to JMU.

VCU quickly returns to The Diamond on March 28 when they host Norfolk State, before opening A-10 play with a weekend visit by St. Bonaventure (March 31-April 2). The Virginia Military Institute visits The Diamond on April 4, before the Rams hit the road for their first road A-10 test at Saint Joseph's (April 7-9) and a local midweek trip to William & Mary on April 11.

George Mason's visit to The Diamond over the weekend of April 14-16 returns the Rams to conference play before a big midweek meeting at The Diamond against a local rival.

On April 18, the Virginia Cavaliers make the trip from Charlottesville, Va. for a 7 p.m. meeting under the Diamond lights. The Rams will return the favor on May 2 when they make the trip to Charlottesville for another in-state battle under the lights against the Cavaliers.

Over the next five weekends, the Rams alternate between home and away conference weekends, with Saint Louis (April 28-30) and Richmond (May 12-14) rounding out VCU's A-10 home slate of games. VCU will visit George Washington (April 21-23) and Davidson (May 4-6) and they wrap up the 2023 regular season with a trip to Rhode Island (May 18-20).

Sprinkled in-between VCU's conference meetings is a visit from Old Dominion on April 25, followed by a trip to ODU on May 16 and a trip to Longwood on May 9.

The A-10 Tournament then kicks off at The Diamond on May 23 and is scheduled to run until May 27 where on the final day an A-10 Tournament Champion will be crowned.

2023 VCU HOME GAMES:
Feb. 24-26 | vs. Sacred Heart!
March 3 | vs. Canisius
March 4 | vs. West Virginia
March 5 | vs. Fairfield
March 10-12 | vs. Cornell
March 14 | vs. JMU
March 17-19 | vs. NJIT
March 21 | vs. Longwood
March 28 | vs. Norfolk State
March 31-Apr. 2 | vs. St. Bonaventure*
April 4 | vs. VMI
April 14-16 | George Mason*
April 18 | vs. Virginia
April 25 | vs. Old Dominion
April 28-30 | vs. Saint Louis*
May 12-14 | vs. Richmond*
May 23-27 | A10 Tournament
! – Home Opener | * - Indicates A-10 Conference Games

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