Hilltoppers Release 2020 Baseball Schedule

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Coming off a 2019 season that saw WKU Baseball capture its first Conference USA Tournament victory in program history, head coach John Pawlowski and the Hilltoppers have announced their 2020 schedule.

"I really like the challenges and opportunities that the 2020 schedule presents for our team," said Pawlowski. "This group has worked extremely hard to build on the momentum that was created last year after we finished fourth in the conference and made an appearance in the C-USA Tournament."

The Hilltoppers' schedule features a total of seven games against Power 5 opponents in Kentucky, Louisville, Purdue and Vanderbilt.

The 2020 slate also includes six contests against teams that advanced to the 2019 NCAA Tournament, including a Vanderbilt team that went on to win the College World Series. The schedule also contains nine matchups against squads that finished the season either ranked or receiving votes in the polls, and six games against teams that closed out their 2019 campaign inside the top-50 RPI.

"I know that the Tops will be excited about having seven games versus Power 5 opponents," said Pawlowski. "We're also looking forward to competing against our always tough conference slate."

WKU will open its 2020 season at home, hosting Valpo (Feb. 14-17) for a three-game series at Nick Denes Field. The Hilltoppers will then play their first road game of the year with a midweek matchup at Murray State (Feb. 18) before returning to Bowling Green for a weekend series against Wright State (Feb. 21-23), who finished last season receiving votes in the final USA Today Coaches Poll.

The Hilltoppers will then face Austin Peay (Feb. 25) and USC Upstate (Feb. 28 - March 1) on the road and Belmont (March 3) at home before facing its first Power 5 opponent of the season in Big Ten school Purdue (March 6-8) at Nick Denes Field.

The Hilltoppers will play yet another Power 5 school while traveling to Lexington, Ky., to face the Wildcats (March 10) before opening up conference competition.

The team will open C-USA play on the road for the first time since 2016, heading to Birmingham, Ala., for a three-game series against UAB (March 13-15) before returning home for a five-game stretch against Austin Peay (March 17), Louisiana Tech (March 20-22) and Louisville (March 24).

The team's final contest of that homestand will feature its annual game at Bowling Green Ballpark on March 24, where it will face a Cardinal team that finished the 2019 season ranked No. 3 in the polls after advancing all the way to the College World Series in last year's NCAA Tournament.

The Bowling Green Ballpark game will be followed by road contests against Old Dominion (March 27-29), who the Hilltoppers earned their first C-USA Tournament win in program history against last season, and Belmont (March 31).

Six of WKU's next seven games will be played at home, with the team opening up that stretch by hosting Middle Tennessee (April 3-5). The squad will then travel to Nashville, Tenn., for a matchup against Vanderbilt (April 7), who earned a No. 1 ranking in the polls after taking home the College World Series hardware last season. The Hilltoppers will close out the seven-game stretch at home, playing host to FIU (April 9-11).

That stretch will be followed by road games against Lipscomb (April 14) and FAU (April 17-19), who advanced to Regionals in last year's NCAA Tournament.

The team will then return home for games against Lipscomb (April 21) and UTSA (April 24-26) before traveling to Louisville (April 28) and opening up the final month of the regular season at Rice (May 1-3).

WKU will mix in a home game against UT Martin (May 5) before traveling again for its final road series of the season against Charlotte (May 8-10), with the team closing out its regular season at home against Marshall (May 14-16) before the C-USA Tournament begins on May 24.

"We're excited to open the season at home on February 14," said Pawlowski. "We hope to see everyone there supporting the 2020 Hilltoppers!"

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