Chiefs Announce 2014 Schedule
The Peoria Chiefs have announced their 2014 Midwest League schedule which kicks off at Wisconsin April 3 with the home opener set for Tuesday, April 8 at 6:30 p.m. against the Dayton Dragons. The season ends September 1 in Kane County and the Chiefs are home on Father's Day June 15 to end the first half and on the 4th of July.
The Chiefs open the season with four games in Appleton, WI against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers before coming home for a six-game homestand against the Dayton Dragons and Bowling Green Hot Rods. Holiday wise the Chiefs host Burlington at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, July 4 and fans will be invited to stay at Dozer Park for a fantastic view of the downtown Peoria fireworks which traditionally begin between 9:15 and 9:30 p.m. The Chiefs finish the first half with a six game homestand against Kane County and Clinton finishing with a Father's Day game on Sunday, June 15. The Midwest League will not hold games on Easter Sunday (April 20) or Mother's Day (Sunday, May 11) and the Chiefs are on the road for Memorial Day weekend.
The 2014 schedule includes eight dates in which the Chiefs and the Bradley Braves are both scheduled to play at Dozer Park. On Friday, April 11 the Chiefs will play at 6:30 p.m. following the Bradley Noon game and on Saturday and Sunday the Chiefs will play first at 1:00 p.m. with the Braves taking the night games. Wednesday, April 23 the Chiefs will host Cedar Rapids at 11:00 a.m. in the annual DARE Day game while Bradley plays under the lights. Peoria again will play at 11:00 a.m. when they host Beloit on Tuesday, May 6 with Bradley playing afterwards. The two teams share Dozer Park against May 15-17 with the Chiefs hosting Wisconsin at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday and Saturday while the Friday game is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. with Bradley playing at night.
The Chiefs play Burlington 19 times in 2014 for the most games against any one opponent, nine at home and 10 on the road. Right behind the matchups with the Bees the Chiefs play Kane County and Wisconsin 18 times each. The Chiefs will host Wisconsin 11 times, while Kane County and Clinton join Burlington in coming to Dozer Park for nine games. In addition to Burlington, the Chiefs are also scheduled to play 10 games at Beloit and nine each in Cedar Rapids and Kane County. The Chiefs and Kane County don't meet until May 25 but then play nine times in 18 days with series in Peoria May 31-June 2 and June 10-12. The Chiefs also host Kane County August 4-6 and finish the season against the Cougars on the road August 30-September 1.
The Midwest League schedule again features just three games against each of the eight Eastern Division squads. The two week inter-divisional games are scheduled for April 8-19 and July 16-28. Peoria will host Dayton and Bowling Green on the first homestand of the season and then travel to Lake County (Ohio) and Fort Wayne April 14-19. The Chiefs travel to West Michigan and South Bend July 16-21 and host Lansing and Great Lakes July 23-28.
The Chiefs' 2014 schedule doesn't feature a homestand longer than seven games. The Chiefs will have four seven-game homestands and six six-game homestands. The Chiefs will be gone for an 11-day, 10-game trip July 11-21 with four commuter games in Burlington and an off-day preceding the trip to West Michigan and South Bend. The longest continuous roadtrip is a seven-game trip to Beloit and Cedar Rapids April 28-May 5
West Michigan will host the 2014 Midwest League All-Star game on Tuesday, June 17 and the Chiefs start the second half on June 19 with a four-game commuter series at Quad Cities. The first homestand of the second half is June 24-30 against Cedar Rapids and Quad Cities.
Remaining game times and promotions will be announced later in the offseason. All game times and promotions are subject to change throughout the offseason. Fans can keep up with all Chiefs news during the offseason online at www.peoriachiefs.com and on twitter: @PeoriaChiefs.