BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For the Moravian College baseball team, one way to reach the 2014 NCAA Division Baseball Tournament is to win its second consecutive – and third in five years – Landmark Conference title.
The other is to secure an insurance policy by scheduling, and conquering, a difficult regular-season schedule. If the dream of a conference crown does not manifest, head coach Paul Engelhardt believes a solid run through a challenging schedule will make the Greyhounds a suitable candidate for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Moravian has nine games scheduled against opponents in the Top 25 or receiving votes in the D3baseball.com and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's Preseason Polls, including four of the first nine games of the 2014 season.
The Greyhounds themselves have received votes in both preseason polls, and will get their first chance to prove they belong with the nation's elite on the third day of the season at the 7th Annual Floyd B. Wilcox Memorial Tournament at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia.
Moravian's season opener is set for Friday, Feb. 21 at 11 a.m. versus Wesley College, with the second game of the tournament scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 22 at 11 a.m. against host Hampden-Sydney. The Hounds take on their first ranked opponent of the season on Sunday, Feb. 23 as the Memorial Tournament wraps up against No. 17 Keystone College at 11 a.m.
No. 3 Kean University welcomes Moravian on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 3 p.m.
Engelhardt's club kicks off its annual Florida Spring Break trip with a doubleheader against Heidelberg University on Sunday, March 2 to begin the Snowbird Classic. The Greyhounds will face Adrian (Mich.) College, which is ranked one spot outside the Top 25 in the D3baseball.com Preseason Poll, twice on the trip, while also seeing Bluffton University and John Carroll University twice as the Classic wraps up on Friday, March 7.
Moravian's home opener will arrive with a heightened sense of anticipation as archrival Muhlenberg College comes to Gillespie Field for a Matte Award game on Wednesday, March 12. The rivalry game kicks off a nine-game home stand stretching over the following two weeks.
The Greyhounds begin their defense of the Landmark Conference championship with a three-game series against Drew University on March 15-16, while The Catholic University of America visits Bethlehem for a three-game set the following weekend.
Moravian closes the longest home stand of the season with a matchup against No. 23/24 Misericordia University on Tuesday, March 25.
In the midst of a 10-game road trip in mid-April, the Blue and Grey travel to DeSales University – receiving votes in both preseason polls – on the 16th before heading to Keystone the following day. The road stint concludes on April 23 with an away game at Alvernia University, yet another club garnering votes in both preseason polls.
If qualified, the Landmark Conference Tournament begins on Saturday, May 3. However, the Hounds have one remaining regular season contest after the conference tourney, a May 9 home date with No. 22 /30 Rowan University at Gillespie Field.
The Greyhounds return 30 players and 13 starters from last year's 24-19 squad that played in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the second time in four seasons after winning its second Landmark Conference title.
