Texas Tech, which won the Big 12 championship and earned an NCAA Tournament berth a year ago, will be the University of Maine baseball team’s first opponent this coming season as the Black Bears will visit Lubbock, Texas for a four-game set on Feb. 16-18.
The Red Raiders went 45-17 a year ago.
Perennial power the University of Miami, New Mexico State, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Ohio University and the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas will be the Black Bears’ other non-conference opponents in February and March before they open their America East schedule with a three-game set at Hartford on March 24-25.
UMaine will open its home schedule against America East rival Albany on March 31-April 1.
UMaine released its schedule on Monday.
The spring trip schedule has changed because the school will have just a one-week spring break instead of two, which had been the norm for several years.
Nick Derba, who was promoted from interim head coach to head coach in June, said he feels there are advantages to the one-week trip rather than two.
“Spending weeks on the road can take its toll on the players,” said Derba who noted that it also gives them time to return to Orono and “work on some things.”
He likes the schedule, which includes 51 Division I games among the 53.
“It will be a new challenge,” said Derba.
He has also upgraded the schedule against in-state Division III teams.
The Black Bears will host St. Joseph’s College of Standish, which went 31-8 a year ago, on April 18 and Bowdoin College (15-18), on April 25.
UMaine played Thomas College, the University of Maine-Farmington, the University of Maine-Presque Isle and Colby College last season. Those four teams combined for a 26-114-2 record.
“We will probably see two of (St. Joseph’s and Bowdoin’s) better pitchers and if we don’t play well, we could lose to them,” said Derba.
Following the Texas Tech series, the Black Bears will return home before heading to Emerson, Georgia to play a four-game set with Ohio University, which was 31-28 a year ago. They will also play four at Miami, which went 31-27 and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 45 years; four in Edinburg, Texas against 26-28 UT-Rio Grande Valley; two at the University of the Incarnate Word (20-36) and four at New Mexico State (35-22).
They will play 27 America East games and have other non-conference games lined up against Monmouth University (20-28), Sacred Heart (23-36), UMass (15-32) and Boston College (25-28).
UMaine went 25-29 a year ago, 8-12 in America East, but reached the AE Tournament’s championship round where it lost to University of Maryland, Baltimore County 2-1 in 10 innings. UMaine lost its tourney opener to Albany before winning four straight games to reach the final.
UMaine will host the America East Tournament for the first time in 14 years on May 23-27.
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