FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team is set to face a challenging 56-game schedule for the 2017 season, highlighted by four games against teams that enter the season ranked in the D1Baseball Preseason Top-25 and 29 home games at Spuhler Field.
 
Complete 2017 Schedule
 
The Patriots begin the new season with eight straight games on the road from Feb. 17 through March 1, including three games in the Hughes Bros. Challenge (Feb. 17-19) against No. 24 UNC-Wilmington, Appalachian State and VMI at Brooks Field in Wilmington, N.C.
 
"The opening weekends and the seven games that come with them, are going to be a challenge for us, but they are a challenge that we welcome," Mason head coach Bill Brown said.  "It is important for us to be ready to play from day one of the season.  There is not a better way to do it than by opening our season against a ranked UNC-Wilmington team in game one and finishing the opening weekends with game seven against the reigning national champion Coastal Carolina."   
 
Former CAA rival UNC-Wilmington finished with a 41-19 record last season and went 29-3 at home.
 
Mason heads to Myrtle Beach, S.C. for three games (Feb. 24-26) facing West Virginia and Ball State in a doubleheader.  The Patriot's will then take on the defending 2016 National Champion Coastal Carolina on Feb. 26.  The Chanticleers were 55-18 overall last season and finished with a 28-7 home record.
 
"On a personal level, Wilmington and Myrtle Beach are two of my favorite places to play," Brown, who enters his 36th season as head coach at Mason, said.  "I look forward to the quality competition in each of the tournaments."                                                                                                                    
 
The games against the Mountaineers and Cardinals will be played at TicketReturn.com Stadium, home of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, the Class-A Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs.                 
 
In March, the Patriots play 14 of 19 games at home.  Mason begins the busy slate Mar. 3-5, hosting Marist for a weekend series at Spuhler Field.  Mason welcomes Radford for a two-game mid-week set Mar. 7-8 and Cornell for a weekend series Mar. 10-12.
 
Mason takes a trip to play No. 6 N.C. State on Mar. 15 at Doak Field in Raleigh, N.C.  The Wolfpack finished last season as the 17th-ranked team in the nation.
 
After a three-game series against Canisius (Mar. 17-19) and a trip to Emmittsburg, Md. for a contest against Mt. St. Mary's., the Patriot's will take on Georgetown for three games (Mar. 31- April 2).
 
The Patriots begin Atlantic 10 Conference action at home against Fordham (Mar. 24-26).  Mason will play four conference series at home and four on the road.  Home series against A-10 foes also include three-game weekend sets against St. Bonaventure (April 21-23), George Washington (May 5-7) and Saint Louis (May 18-20).
 
"It is imperative that we are prepared for our A-10 regular-season and understand the sense of urgency surrounding what happens in league play," said Brown of the conference portion of the schedule.  "Our success will not come from being concerned about who we are playing, but instead, will come from our complete focus on how we are playing."

The Patriots visit St. Joseph's (April 7-9), Dayton (April 14-16), Richmond (April 28-30) and Rhode Island (May 12-14).  The Rams are the defending Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament champions.
 
"We need to understand the importance of the moment, the game that day and not be preoccupied with what might be happening elsewhere in the league or what the future might bring," Brown added.  "I am counting on our maturity and ability to allow us to accomplish those goals."                                                                                                                                                                           
The Patriots will host No. 22 Maryland on April 12 at Spuhler Field in a mid-week contest.  Mason has a pair of home-and-home series, taking on UMBC and James Madison.
 
The 2017 Atlantic 10 Championship will be held May 24-27 at the Billiken Sports Center in St. Louis, Mo.