Baseball to Take Part in 2016 USA Baseball-Irish Classic
10/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Alabama baseball will take part in the annual USA Baseball-Irish Classic from March 4-6, 2016, USA Baseball announced on Wednesday morning. The Crimson Tide will join Notre Dame, N.C. State, Bucknell, Brown and Niagara at the three-day tournament.
"We look forward to playing against some of the top teams in the country at one of the finest complexes in all of baseball," said Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard. "This is one of the elite tournaments in collegiate baseball, and we want to thank USA Baseball and Notre Dame for inviting us to be a part of it. The weekend in North Carolina will put our team against good opponents that will help our preparation heading into SEC play."
Alabama will face off against Notre Dame in the second game on Friday at 4 p.m. CT to open the weekend. The Tide will follow up with two games on Saturday, starting with a matchup against Niagara at 11:30 a.m. CT and then close out the day against N.C. State at 3:30 p.m. CT. Alabama will wrap up the weekend with a matchup at 11 a.m. CT against Brown before heading back to Tuscaloosa.
Eight games will take place at the USA Baseball National Training Complex, with two other contests scheduled for Doak Field on the campus of N.C. State. Ticket information for the USA Baseball-Irish Classic will be announced at a later date on UND.com and USABaseball.com.
"We look forward to welcoming back Notre Dame and N.C. State to the fourth annual Irish Classic at the USA Baseball National Training Complex," said Paul Seiler, Executive Director and CEO of USA Baseball. "With these two clubs and the additions of Alabama, Brown, Bucknell and Niagara, this will once again be a first-class event for the great baseball fans of North Carolina."
The rest of the Crimson Tide's 2016 schedule will be released at a later date. Alabama is currently in week two of fall practice, with scrimmages scheduled for Thursday and Friday at 1:30 p.m. CT, followed by a morning intrasquad on Saturday at 9 a.m. CT. Following Saturday's scrimmage, the team and Coach Gaspard will be on the Quad from 2:45-3:30 p.m. signing autographs prior to the Alabama-Arkansas football game.
Get all the latest information on the team by following AlabamaBSB on Twitter and Instagram and on Facebook at Alabama Baseball. General athletic news can be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
2016 USA Baseball-Irish Classic
FRIDAY, MARCH 4
GAME 1: Brown vs. Bucknell - 12:30 p.m. CT - NTC Stadium
GAME 2: Alabama vs. Notre Dame - 4 p.m. CT - NTC Stadium
Niagara at N.C. State 2 p.m. CT - Doak Field
SATURDAY, MARCH 5
GAME 3: Brown vs. Notre Dame - 10:30 a.m. CT - Field 3
GAME 4: Niagara vs. Alabama - 11:30 a.m. CT - NTC Stadium
GAME 5: Bucknell vs. Notre Dame - 2 p.m. CT - Field 3
GAME 6: N.C. State vs. Alabama 3:30 p.m. CT - NTC Stadium
SUNDAY, MARCH 6
GAME 7: Niagara vs. Notre Dame - 10 a.m. CT - NTC Stadium
GAME 8: Alabama vs. Brown - 11 a.m. CT - Field 2
Bucknell at N.C. State 12 p.m. CT - Doak Field
