First look at LSU’s 2016 baseball schedule: Tigers host Florida, Vanderbilt … – The Advocate

LSU’s 2016 baseball schedule includes marquee home series against Florida and Vanderbilt, a showdown with Louisiana-Lafayette in the Wally Pontiff Jr. Classic and trips to Missouri and Tennessee.

The Tigers open SEC play with a three-game series against Alabama starting March 18 and close it against Florida on May 19-21. It’s the first time since 2010 that the team is opening and closing SEC action at Alex Box Stadium.

LSU hosts what could be two-time defending national champion Vanderbilt in a three-game series April 8-10. The Commodores, off the Tigers’ schedule last season, are playing for a second straight national championship Wednesday night.

Other home SEC series include Mississippi State (April 22-24) and Arkansas (May 6-8). LSU’s road SEC series are to Texas A&M (March 24-26) and Auburn (April 1-3) on back-to-back weekends, Missouri (April 15-17), Ole Miss (April 29-May 1) and Tennessee (May 13-15).

LSU will travel to Knoxville, Tennessee, for the first time since 2010 and makes the trek to Missouri for the second time in four years. The Tigers swept Missouri in the school’s first season in the league in 2013.

LSU meets the Ragin’ Cajuns on March 22 in the Wally Pontiff Jr. Classic at Zephyr Field in Metairie.

Dates are scheduled to change. LSU had five Thursday-Sunday SEC series in 2015. Only two are scheduled for 2016 (at Texas A&M to avoid Easter Sunday and the regular season finale against Florida). Others could be moved by TV to Thursday-Saturday series at a later date.

Many of LSU’s non-conference games for 2016 have been previously reported. The Tigers will meet Notre Dame in a two-game series in South Bend, Indiana, on May 10-11, between series against Arkansas and Tennessee.

The Tigers open the 2016 season on Feb. 19 with a three-game series against Cincinnati, host Sacramento State (Feb. 26-28), Fordham (March 4-6) and Ball State (March 11-13) in the other three pre-conference weekends.

LSU’s only road non-conference games are at Nicholls State (March 2) and at Tulane (April 26). The Tigers host the following in midweek games: Lamar (Feb. 24), Louisiana Tech (March 8), McNeese State (March 9), UNO (March 16), Tulane (March 29), Southern (April 6), Grambling (April 13), Southeastern Louisiana (April 20) and Northwestern State (May 17.

Louisiana Tech and LSU are playing for the first time since 1998.

LSU’s 2017 pre-conference schedule is set and some of the 2018 and 2019 schedules have been determined, as previously reported.

LSU will host Air Force, Maryland, Hawaii and Wichita State in the 2017 pre-conference slate.

LSU will open the 2018 season with a three-game home series against Notre Dame and hosts Texas in a three-game series later that season. The Tigers travel to Austin, Texas, for a three-game series in 2019.

Along with the series against Notre Dame and Texas in 2018, LSU will host Sacred Heart and continues to search for a fourth series. Bryant joins Texas on the 2019 pre-conference schedule.

2016 LSU baseball schedule