Baseball will begin with a bang

Coming off their worst record since 1988, the University of Mary Washington Eagles baseball team and then first year head coach, Wayne Riser, accumulated a 22-18 record last season.

Now in his second season with the program, Riser and the Eagles are prepared to surprise a lot of people.

Riser came to UMW from Division II powerhouse Shepard University, where he spent 20 years earning himself the title of the most winning coach in program history.

Taking over for 25-year head coach Tom Sheridan, Riser accepted his role and took great strides as the team now looks to find itself in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2010.

Led by seniors Connor Finnerty and Jake Black, the Eagles will open up their season Friday, Feb. 14 against Neumann College.

Following the Neumann game, the Eagles will play State University of New York at Cortland for a three game series on Feb. 15 and 16.

The Eagles will compete in 44 regular season games this season as they attempt to come away with the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) crown.

With nine incoming freshman and only two seniors on this year’s Eagle squad, they are looking to be successful for many years to come.

Previous conference champions, the Christopher Newport University Captains, have seven seniors on this year’s squad and are looking to repeat.

The young and hungry Eagles will do anything to get in the way of their dubbed “rival” and their path for a third consecutive conference championship.

Freshman outfielder Mason Clark said, “Our goal is to win the conference championship and to move even farther beyond that.”

If the weather cooperates, the Eagles will begin their attempt at the title in non-conference play on Friday, Feb. 14 and will begin conference play on March 5 at home against CNU.