RENO, Nev. – Nevada baseball head coach T.J. Bruce announced the team's schedule for the 2020 season today, as the Wolf Pack has four power five opponents slated for the year. The Pack will play a home midweek contest on April 14 against Stanford and a trio of three-game series at Oregon, Utah and College World Series runner-up Michigan.
Four of Nevada's opponents this season made an NCAA Regional in 2019, including Michigan, Stanford, Sacramento State, and Fresno State. Michigan and Stanford each made it to a Super Regional, while the Wolverines came one win away against Vanderbilt from winning the College World Series.
"We are excited about the way our schedule has shaped out for the upcoming season," said Bruce. "We will play a lot of power five schools that will prepare us for our conference schedule, with a great slate of opponents coming to Don Weir Field at Peccole Park. We can't wait for the season to kick off in a few months."
The Pack will play two fall exhibitions this October as well, traveling to the University of San Francisco on Oct. 20 and hosting the University of California, Berkeley on Saturday, Oct. 26. The scrimmage against Cal will be open to the public, with first pitched scheduled for 1 p.m.
The Mountain West will be comprised of eight teams this season with the addition of Boise State. Nevada will play 21 MW contests, with the Pack facing each team one time with three home series and four on the road.
The season will kick off on Feb. 14 with seven games on the road, beginning with a four-game series at the University of Portland. The Pack will stay in the state, traveling to battle its first Pac-12 opponent of the season with a three-game series at Oregon Feb. 21-23.
Nevada will come home to Don Weir Field at Peccole Park for the first time on Feb. 28, as Hofstra and Wichita State will be in Reno. During the weekend, each of the three teams will play each other twice over a span of three days.
Continuing its opening homestand will be a four-game series against California Baptist University the following week beginning on March 5. Following one road midweek against Saint Mary's on March 11, the Pack will be back at home that weekend for a three-game series against Sacramento State.
The Pack's next two series will be a big test for the team, hitting the road for consecutive weekends to battle power five opponents Utah and Michigan. The Wolverines will be Nevada's final nonconference series of the year, a team that won 50 games the season prior and fell in the College World Series to Vanderbilt in three games.
April 3 will kickoff conference play for Nevada, as it will stay on the road to face defending Mountain West champion Fresno State. Without a midweek in between, Nevada will finally come back to Peccole to host a three-game series against the San José State Spartans from April 9-11 following its bout with the Bulldogs.
The Pack will stay at home for its bout with Stanford following its series against SJSU. The Cardinal finished second in the Pac-12 after accumulating 45 wins in 2019 and advancing all the way to a NCAA Super Regional.
Nevada will hit the road again for its next two Mountain West series, playing at New Mexico April 17-19 and facing Boise State in its inaugural season April 24-26. The Pack will be back home on May 1 for three games against intrastate rival UNLV before traveling to face San Diego State May 8-10.
The last four games of the regular season will be home contests for Nevada, as it will play Hawai'i in its final midweek on May 12 before hosting Air Force May 14-16.
Nevada has reached the Mountain West tournament all four years under head coach T.J. Bruce, who boasts 115 career victories during that span. Nevada will return two All-Mountain West selections from last season in senior outfielder Jaylon McLaughlin and junior third baseman Joshua Zamora.
