The 2023 Pacific West Conference baseball schedule is now posted on the conference website, and it is loaded with interesting early season match-ups.

The first pitch will be thrown on February 1 when Academy of Art hosts Stanislaus State and Hawai`i Hilo welcomes Augustana (SD). Augustana was the 2018 NCAA Division II national champion and is ranked No. 18 in the Collegiate Baseball D2 Preseason Poll.

But that is just the beginning of a string of intriguing non-conference series on the slate. Point Loma, who advanced all the way to the 2022 World Series championship game, will host Northwest Nazarene (Feb. 3-6), a team that they had to defeat in the 2022 NCAA West Region tournament to advance. The Sea Lions, ranked No. 8 in the 2023 preseason poll, had to beat Cal Poly Pomona, NNU and Azusa Pacific to advance to Cary, North Carolina, where they won three games before falling to North Greenville in the final.

Azusa Pacific, who toppled Western Oregon in the postseason and Cal State Monterey Bay before falling to the Sea Lions, will host the Otters in a regional rematch Feb. 2-4. That opening weekend is loaded, with every PacWest team diving into action, including Fresno Pacific's hosting of 2022 GNAC co-champion Western Oregon.

After a heavy three weeks of non-conference games, Pacific West Conference play begins on Feb. 24. Fresno Pacific will open at defending champ Point Loma, while Holy Names visits Azusa Pacific, Concordia is at Hawai`i Hilo and Biola travels to Hawai`i Pacific. Academy of Art opens conference play on March 10 at Holy Names. All conference match-ups are played in a four-game series format. 

For the first time ever, the top four teams in the final standings will advance to the Pacific West Conference tournament, May 10-12 in Fresno. The winner of the tournament will receive the PacWest's automatic berth into the NCAA West Region Championships. 

For look at the complete 2023 Pacific West Conference baseball schedule, click here.