It’s an early-season schedule that can build confidence if it turns out right, or send the campaign into a downward spiral if it goes the other direction. Either way, the Lewis-Clark State baseball team most certainly will be challenged early and often.

The Warriors will start the almost three-month, 42-game regular season a little less than a month from now with a five-game trip to Florida and games against the defending national champion, another Avista NAIA World Series qualifier and two other teams that enter the season in the coaches top 25.

It’s an ambitious run, and one that hasn’t been seen since the days the Warriors regularly would schedule games against top NCAA Division I schools.

“We’re very excited to head to Florida in February to compete against some of the best teams in the country,” fifth-year coach Jake Taylor said in an email as he was attending the American Baseball Coaches Association in Nashville, Tenn. “This will be a great challenge for every team involved in the early-season competition.”

LCSC, which finished the 2022 season 58-7, at one point registered a program-record 28 consecutive wins and is the No. 2-ranked team in the preseason coaches top 25 poll, opens the season at 10 a.m. Pacific on Feb. 2 against No. 4 LSU Shreveport in the East/West Challenge in Lake Myrtle, Fla. It’ll be a rematch of a World Series semifinal-round game from this past season the Warriors won 5-1.

Next up are a pair of games on Feb. 3. LCSC opens the day in Lake Myrtle at 8 a.m. Pacific against No. 8 St. Thomas (Fla.) in an appetizer for the big showdown that takes place at 1 p.m. Pacific, when the Warriors play a “true” road game against top-ranked and defending national champion Southeastern (Fla.).

The Warriors and the Fire played three times in last year’s Series, with LCSC forcing a winner-take-all championship game by registering a 10-9 victory June 2. That final contest saw the Warriors rally from a four-run deficit to take a 5-4 lead in the top of the fifth inning, only to see the Fire get the equalizer in the bottom half. Weather impeded play and forced a suspension of the game in the seventh after Southeastern had taken a 6-5 lead, and the Fire poured it on with five more runs in finishing an 11-5 victory.

The road doesn’t get any easier after the Southeastern game, as LCSC wraps up play in the tournament at 9 a.m. Pacific on Feb. 4 with a game against No. 25 Keiser (Fla.). The Warriors will play one more game in Florida, at 3 p.m. Pacific on Feb. 7 at traditional power Warner (Fla.) before a 10-day break.

Upon returning, LCSC will play the rest of its schedule, minus one game, against Cascade Conference opponents, some in nonconference action.

The Warriors will begin the home portion of the season with a four-game series Feb. 17-19 against a familiar foe in British Columbia. The two teams played nine times last season between nonconference, Cascade Conference and NAIA Opening Round play, with LCSC winning eight times. However, the one time UBC won on May 18, it forced a winner-take-all game in the Opening Round for the right to move on to the Series. The Warriors won that game the next day 6-3.

“The early schedule will provide us with a tremendous gauge as to where our strengths and weaknesses currently lie,” Taylor said.

The early-season schedule rivals those LCSC played in 1999 and 2000. In 1999, the Warriors played Southern Utah, UNLV and Cal State LA twice with single games against Mesa State, BYU and Biola. In 2000, LCSC had three games against Grand Canyon, two against UNLV, with single games against Washington State, Mesa State, Southern Utah and NAIA runners-up Albertson (now College of Idaho).

Walden may be reached at (208) 848-2258, dwalden@lmtribune.com, or on Twitter at @waldo9939.

2023 SCHEDULE

Feb. 2 — LSU Shreveport+, 10 a.m.; 3 — St. Thomas (Fla.)+, 8 a.m.; 3 — at Southeastern (Fla.)+, 1 p.m.; 4 — Keiser (Fla.)+, 9 a.m.; 7 — at Warner (Fla.), 3 p.m.; 17 — British Columbia, 3 p.m.; 18 — British Columbia (2), noon; 19 — British Columbia, 11 a.m.; 24 — College of Idaho, 3 p.m.; 25 — College of Idaho (2), noon; 26 — College of Idaho, 11 a.m.; 28 — at Seattle, 3 p.m.; March 4 — at Eastern Oregon (2), noon; 5 — at Eastern Oregon (2), 11 a.m.; 18 — Corban (2)*, noon; 19 — Corban (2)*, 11 a.m.; 24 — at British Columbia*, 6 p.m.; 25 — at British Columbia (2)*, 1 p.m.; 26 — at British Columbia*, 11 a.m.; April 1 — Oregon Tech (2)*, noon; 2 — Oregon Tech (2)*, 11 a.m.; 7 — at College of Idaho*, 5 p.m.; 8 — at College of Idaho (2)*, noon; 9 — at College of Idaho*, 10 a.m.; 15 — Eastern Oregon (2)*, noon; 16 — Eastern Oregon (2)*, 11 a.m.; 28 — at Bushnell (2)*, 2 p.m.; 29 — at Bushnell (2)*, 11 a.m.; May 6-8 — Cascade Conference tournament; 15-18 — NAIA Opening Round; 26-June 2 — Avista NAIA World Series

+ — East/West Challenge

* — Cascade Conference games