LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena Baseball Head Coach Tony Rossi has announced his team's 2023 schedule. The Saints are slated to play 56 games this coming spring, featuring matchups against four NCAA Tournament teams, and highlighted by 17 home dates at Connors Park.
 
"We always aim to construct a challenging non-conference schedule in the hope that it will prepare our squad to be playing our best baseball come May," said head coach Tony Rossi, who is set to enter his 54^th season leading the program. "How we perform in February and March will provide a strong indicator of where we will be going come the springtime."
 
Siena will certainly be challenged from the outset with a program record 27-game road trip spanning seven different states over the first 44 days of the season. The Saints previously opened both the 2001 and 2003 seasons with 24 true road games, and played their first 34 games away from home – albeit with a relocated home series to a neutral site mixed in – to kick off the program's 2014 MAAC Championship season.
 
Siena will play its first eight games – and 11 of its first 13 contests – in Florida. For the 10^th time in the past 12 non-conference seasons, the Saints will open at perennial American Athletic Conference contender Central Florida, which won 35 games last spring. Siena's 2023 season commences with a three-game weekend series at UCF Feb. 17-19 in Orlando.
 
The Saints will close out the opening month with additional Sunshine State series at Jacksonville (Feb. 24-26) and Stetson (Feb. 28 – Mar. 1), before traveling to Ohio for a three-game weekend set at Miami (OH) Mar. 4-5. Siena then returns to Florida to take on 2022 Gainesville Regional Finalist Florida Mar. 10-12.
 
The Saints slowly make their way back up the eastern seaboard as March progresses, with a weekend series at 2022 Atlantic 10 Tournament Runner-Up Richmond (Mar. 18-19), before making their 2023 Empire State debut with midweek contests at Fordham (Mar. 21) and defending Patriot League Champion Army West Point (Mar. 22).
 
Conference action commences with a trip to defending MAAC Regular Season Champion Fairfield Mar. 24-26, before the grueling season-opening road stretch concludes with a midweek matchup at Fairleigh Dickinson (Mar. 29), and a return to the South to take on defending Southern Conference Regular Season Champion Wofford (Apr. 1-2), which is coming off a program-record 42-win season.
 
Siena's home schedule begins with a season-long nine-game homestand spanning 12 days at Connors Park Apr. 4-16. The Saints finally make their long-awaited Capital Region debut when Fordham (Apr. 4) and Army West Point (Apr. 5.) travel to Loudonville for midweek matchups at Connors Park to conclude the home-and-home series. The Apr. 4 home-opener is slated to be Siena's latest since commencing their 2017 home schedule on Apr. 8 of that season.
 
Ultimately, the Saints' first five home games are scheduled to be played over consecutive days due to the forthcoming Easter Weekend holiday, as Siena will close out its first week at home against perennial MAAC contender Rider Thursday – Saturday, Apr. 6-8. The Saints conclude their homestand with a midweek tilt vs. Central Connecticut (Apr. 11), before taking on I-87 rival Marist (Apr. 14-16).
 
Siena heads back on the road to take on defending Northeast Conference Champion LIU on Apr. 18, before returning home to host Dartmouth the next day. The Saints will then play their next five on the road at Iona (Apr. 21-23), at reigning America East Champion Binghamton (Apr. 25), and at UMass (Apr. 26).
 
Siena returns to the Capital Region to host Manhattan (Apr. 28-30), before concluding their regular season road schedule at Saint Peter's (May 5-7), and at new MAAC member Mount St. Mary's (May 11-13).
 
The Saints close out regular season action with four home games, beginning with a midweek matchup in the return of the home-and-home with Fairleigh Dickinson (May 16), before wrapping up both regular season action and the MAAC slate by hosting Quinnipiac (May 19-21) at Connors Park. Siena will not play either defending MAAC Tournament Champion Canisius nor Niagara during the 2023 regular season as part of the conference's 24-game, double-bye format.
 
The top-six teams in the 11-team conference will qualify for the 2023 MAAC Baseball Championships, which are set to be held for a second straight season at Clover Stadium in Pomona, New York from May 24-27.
 
Siena is looking to improve upon its 11-37 record from last season which included an 8-15 mark in the MAAC. The Saints have retooled this offseason, adding 17 newcomers highlighted by 12 true freshmen and five transfers, as they aim to return to the postseason this coming spring.