Pitt baseball released its 2021 non-conference schedule on Friday afternoon. Head coach Mike Bell unveiled an additional 14 contests against non-ACC opponents, bringing Pitt’s total number of games for this season to an even 50.
With the addition of two games against No. 14 West Virginia, the Panthers are scheduled to play more than half of their games this season versus opponents that have been ranked in the top-20 by at least one of the major preseason polls.
Two more games against a preseason ranked opponent and three more against a 2019 regional finalist make an already challenging schedule even more difficult for Pitt, but Bell said he is still excited for what the season holds.
We are extremely excited to get this season started, and we know this will be like no other season that this program has ever seen,” Bell said. “Starting off with a 13-day road trip with a regional finalist [Indiana St] from two years ago to rolling into four consecutive ranked, weekend conference opponents, we are truly looking forward to the challenges ahead.”
The Panthers will open this season the same way they opened 2020: with a three game series against Indiana State in Port Charlotte, Florida beginning on Feb. 19. The Panthers will then travel north to visit Jacksonville University for a midweek contest on Feb. 23.
ACC contests will occupy Pitt for the next 12 contests until March 28, when Bucknell visits Pittsburgh to take on the Panthers in their home opener at Charles L. Cost Field. That kicks-off a 16-game home stand that features series vs. Lipscomb (April 13-14) and rival West Virginia (April 6) for the first half of a home-and-home set.
The league offers a pair of open weekends in schedule and Pitt has chosen to fill the second one with a four-game series against Northern Kentucky. The Norse will come to Pittsburgh from April 30-May 2 for their first ever meeting with the Panthers.
Pitt will complete the home-and-home series with the Mountaineers when they travel to Morgantown, West Virginia for a mid-week contest on May 5 and round out the non-conference slate on May 18 at home vs. Akron.
Pitt’s full schedule:
Feb. 19-21 at Indiana State
Feb. 23 at Jacksonville
Feb. 26-28 at Florida State
March 5-7 at Duke
March 12-14 at Georgia Tech
March 19-21 at Virginia
March 24 vs Bucknell
March 26-28 vs Virginia Tech
April 1-3 vs Notre Dame
April 6 vs West Virginia
April 9-11 vs Miami
April 13-14 vs Lipscomb
April 16-18 vs North Carolina
April 23-25 at Louisville
April 30-May 2 vs Northern Kentucky
May 5 at West Virginia
May 7-9 vs Boston College
May 14-16 vs NC State
May 18 vs Akron
May 20-22 vs Wake Forest
