Claflin Panthers Baseball Team to Play a 47-Game Schedule

Orangeburg, South Carolina .-- The Claflin University baseball team will open the 2017 season Friday at the two-day (Feb. 3-4) Francis Marion Invitational in Florence, SC.

The tournament will highlight a 47-game schedule for Claflin. The Panthers will battle host Francis Marion University Friday at 2 p.m., then play two games Saturday -- North Greenville University at 11 a.m. and Wingate University at 5 p.m.

Claflin will make its home debut at Historic Mirmow Field in Orangeburg with three straight games, beginning with Lincoln Memorial University on Monday (Feb. 6), followed by a doubleheader with St. Augustine's University on Saturday, Feb. 11.

Claflin will play a total 22 games in Orangeburg, including 14 straight. The home games run from Friday, February 17 thru Sunday, March 19 against seven teams, including six non-conference opponents.

"The games will allow us to play a lot of kids and give us a chance to see how we stack up against good teams," Claflin Coach James Randall said. "Our schedule is extremely challenging. The non-conference portion is very competitive with several teams ranked in the NCAA Division II preseason polls. We're looking forward to the challenge."

The home stretch for the Panthers will consist of games with Florida Southern University, Bluefield State College, the College of Saint Rose, Francis Marion University, Augusta University and Lincoln University.



Claflin will close out the home stand with a three-game series against Spring Hill College March 18-19 in its Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) opener.

Last season, the Panthers captured the program's first-ever SIAC Baseball Tournament Championship and gained the conference automatic berth into postseason play.

The Panthers finished the season 24-19.

Claflin will face six additional SIAC teams: Morehouse College (Mar. 24-26) in Charleston, Paine College (Apr. 1-2), Albany State University (Apr. 8-9), Clark Atlanta University (Apr. 14-15), Benedict College (Apr. 22-23) and Lane College (Apr. 29-30).

The SIAC Tournament is scheduled for May 3-7 at a site to be determined.

The Panthers other non-conference opponents includes Armstrong State University, Coker College and Lander University.

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