FRISCO, Texas — The Southland Conference Board of Directors has approved a modified schedule format for the 2021 baseball conference season in which member institutions will play 40 league games. Each of the school’s 10 previously-scheduled weekend series will expand from a three-game series to four games.
The format for each series will include a nine-inning game on Friday and on Sunday and a doubleheader on Saturday with game one played to seven innings and game two played to nine innings. Should game one of the doubleheader go to extra innings, game two would become a seven-inning contest.
The presidents and athletic directors also approved a participation minimum of 24 student-athletes, which must include 13 pitchers and 11 position players (two of which must be catchers). Should a team drop below the four-game minimum, the coach has the discretion to play a four-game series or revert to a three-game series by mutual agreement.
Conference play will begin March 12-14 and run through May 20-22. Members may schedule up to 16 non-conference contests at the program’s discretion for a maximum of 56 regular-season games.
The 2021 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament will be held May 26-29 at a location to be determined. On Jan. 13, the conference reinstated full postseason participation for upcoming 2020-21 league championship events, including expanding the baseball tournament field back to the top eight schools.
