Oct. 29, 2009

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Tickets for the second Big Ten-BIG EAST Baseball Challenge, hosted by the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Sports Commission, will be available online at www.BigTenBIGEASTChallenge.com beginning at noon on Wednesday, October 28, 2009. The Challenge will take place February 26-28, 2010 at various current and former big league facilites. Those interested in purchasing tickets via phone can call 410-472-3500.

An all-tournament pass, which provides access to all 30 games of the Challenge, can be purchased for $25. Individual day passes are available for $10 and individual venue passes for Bright House Field and Dunedin Stadium are available for $5. An individual day pass will admit one spectator to any game on a given day at Progress Energy Park, the Raymond A. Naimoli Complex and Jack Russell Stadium. An individual venue pass will admit one spectator to any game on a given day at Bright House Field or Dunedin Stadium. Alumni groups, youth and social organizations also can sell all-tournament passes with a portion of the proceeds going to the selling organization. Information about fundraising opportunities is available at www.BigTenBIGEASTChallenge.com.

All 10 of the Big Ten’s baseball-playing institutions will once again compete in the 2010 Challenge, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State and Purdue. The BIG EAST will send 10 teams to the 2010 event, as Louisville, Rutgers and Villanova will make their first appearances and will be joined by seven squads making a return trip – Cincinnati, Connecticut, Notre Dame, St. John’s, Seton Hall, USF and West Virginia. Games will be played daily in St. Petersburg at the Raymond A. Naimoli Complex, the former spring training practice facility of the Tampa Bay Rays, and Al Lang Stadium, the Rays’ former spring training game site. Games in Clearwater will take place at Jack Russell Stadium, once the spring home of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Challenge will also feature nightly doubleheaders at Dunedin Stadium, spring home of the Toronto Blue Jays and Bright House Field, spring home of the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies.

There will be 10 games each day pitting Big Ten teams against BIG EAST representatives. Games are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Friday and Saturday and run into the evening both days. Sunday’s games are also slated to start at 10 a.m., but will conclude in the afternoon so that traveling schools can return to their campuses that evening.

The complete tournament schedule can be found below. For more information please call 410-472-3500 or send an email to scott@api-mgmt.com.

BIG EAST/BIG TEN CHALLENGE SCHEDULEFebruary 20-22, 2010Friday, February 2610:00 am     Al Lang Stadium          Rutgers vs. Iowa10:00 am     Jack Russell Stadium     Connecticut vs. Northwestern10:00 am     Naimoli Complex          Seton Hall vs. Michigan State1:00 pm      Al Lang Stadium          Cincinnati vs. Penn State1:00 pm      Jack Russell Stadium     West Virginia vs. Indiana1:00 pm      Naimoli Complex          Villanova vs. Purdue4:00 pm      Dunedin Stadium          St. John's vs. Minnesota4:30 pm      Al Lang Stadium          South Florida vs. Ohio State4:30 pm      Jack Russell Stadium     Notre Dame vs. Illinois7:30 pm      Dunedin Stadium          Louisville vs. Michigan
Saturday, February 2710:00 am     Al Lang Stadium          Villanova vs. Indiana10:00 am     Jack Russell Stadium     Seton Hall vs. Penn State10:00 am     Naimoli Complex          Northwestern vs. Rutgers1:00 pm      Al Lang Stadium          Connecticut vs. Minnesota1:00 pm      Jack Russell Stadium     Purdue vs. Cincinnati1:00 pm      Naimoli Complex          Iowa vs. West Virginia4:00 pm      Bright House Field       Ohio State vs. Notre Dame4:30 pm      Al Lang Stadium          St. John's vs. Michigan4:30 pm      Jack Russell Stadium     Michigan State vs. Louisville7:30 pm      Bright House Field       South Florida vs. Illinois
Sunday, February 2810:00 am     Al Lang Stadium          Northwestern vs. Seton Hall10:00 am     Jack Russell Stadium     Purdue vs. Rutgers10:00 am     Naimoli Complex (#1)     Penn State vs. Notre Dame10:00 am     Naimoli Complex (#3)     Indiana vs. Connecticut10:00 am     Naimoli Complex (#5)     Illinois vs. St. John's1:00 pm      Al Lang Stadium          Michigan State vs. West Virginia1:00 pm      Jack Russell Stadium     Iowa vs. Villanova1:00 pm      Naimoli Complex (#1)     Michigan vs. South Florida1:00 pm      Naimoli Complex (#3)     Minnesota vs. Louisville1:00 pm      Naimoli Complex (#5)     Ohio State vs. Cincinnati

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