Orono, ME – The University of Maine baseball program announced its 2024 schedule on Friday morning. The Black Bears will play a 54-game schedule with 19 games scheduled to be held at Mahaney Diamond in Orono. Maine is coming off of a 2023 season in which they won their first America East Championship under Head Coach Nick Derba and qualified for their first NCAA Regional since 2011.
 
For the second-straight season, the Black Bears will open the 2024 campaign with a series against Pitt held at a neutral site in Florida from Feb. 16-18. The Black Bears took two of three from the ACC opponent in 2023, dropping their only loss of the series by one run. St. Louis will be joining the Black Bears and Pitt on the opening weekend as Maine will have a doubleheader against Pitt and St. Louis on Saturday, Feb. 17.
 
The Black Bears square off against a trio of teams the following weekend as Stetson hosts the Black Bears, Fordham and Army West Point. Each team will face each other once in the three-game weekend. Maine begins the weekend taking on the host school, Stetson on Friday, Feb. 24 before facing Fordham on Saturday and Army West Point on Sunday.
 
Maine returns to the Northeast for a quick one-game stop at Boston College on Feb. 28 before heading back south to Rock Hill, South Carolina where they will face the Winthrop Eagles for a three-game set from Mar. 1-3. The Eagles won the season series a season ago, taking two of three from the Black Bears.
 
From Mar. 8-11 the Black Bears will be squaring off against Bethune Cookman for the first time since the 2001 season as part of a four-game series. At the conclusion of the series, Maine travels to USF for a midweek matchup on Mar. 13 before a three-game series against FAU on Mar. 15-17.
 
The Black Bears make their return to Orono on Wednesday, Mar. 20 to kick off a five-game homestand. Maine will take on Thomas College on Mar. 20 before hosting their first America East opponent of the 2024 season in Bryant on Mar. 22-24. Maine swept Bryant in their first season in the America East in 2023, scoring 20 runs in the three-game set.
 
Maine caps off the homestand against Husson on Wednesday, Mar. 27 before hitting the road for a three-game series at UAlbany on Mar. 29-31. The Black Bears pummeled the Great Danes in 2023, outscoring them 36-8 in a weekend sweep in Orono.
 
The Black Bears return to Orono on Wednesday, Apr. 3 against UMaine-Farmington before hosting NJIT on the weekend of Apr. 5-7. Maine won the series against the Highlanders in 2023, winning four of the six matchups. NJIT had the most conference victories against the Black Bears last season, handing Maine two of their five losses as part of a 19-5 America East record.
 
Maine heads on the road for five games following their weekend against NJIT as they stop at UConn on Apr. 10, have a three-game series at UMass Lowell from Apr. 12-14 and cap off the road trip with a stop at Merrimack on Apr. 17. Against the River Hawks of UMass Lowell a season ago, the Black Bears won five of the six regular season meetings and their lone playoff game against the River Hawks, winning 10-7 in the America East Tournament.
 
Maine returns to Orono for a weekend series against Rider from Apr. 19-21 and a midweek game against Merrimack on Tuesday, Apr. 23.
 
Following a one-game road matchup against Merrimack on Apr. 24, the Black Bears head back to Mahaney Diamond to host the Binghamton Bearcats on Apr. 26-28. Maine won the season series against the America East rival a season ago, taking two of three games in the regular season and a playoff victory in the America East Championship Game in Binghamton, NY.
 
The Black Bears venture out on an extended road-trip from May 3-12 as they play three games at UMBC (3-5), a midweek matchup against Dartmouth (8) and three games at Bryant (10-12) before returning to Orono for the final weekend of the regular season to host UAlbany on May 16-18.
 
The America East Tournament is slated to begin on May 21 in Binghamton, NY as Binghamton is set to host the tournament for the second-straight year. Maine will host the tournament in 2025.
 
-UMaine-