Baseball Announces 2024 Schedule

1/29/2024 12:00:00 AM

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(2024 schedule)

Goldey-Beacom, coming off its second NCAA Tournament appearance over the last three seasons and its most successful, enters the campaign with high expectations against what again is a challenging schedule.

The squad plays its first eight games in North Carolina over the first two weekends, starting February 16 with a doubleheader against Mercy. GBC also plays two games against Saint Rose and Frostburg State before single games versus Kutztown and Clarion.

A four-game series the first weekend in March features games against Millersville, which went into last season's NCAA Division II World Series as the top seed. Goldey-Beacom then plays four games against Queens (NY), which played in last year's NCAA East Regional #2 that the former hosted.

Play in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference opens March 20 in Hockessin as part of a three-game series with Jefferson. Another game with a 2023 NCAA Tournament participant takes place April 2, when GBC visits Shippensburg for a single contest.

Other big tests in April included a home doubleheader on the 14th against Felician, which joined Goldey-Beacom and Queens in the same regional. GBC then has a three-game series against Wilmington (DE), beginning on April 23, before ending the regular season with an April 28 home doubleheader versus Dominican (NY).

The top three teams in each of the two divisions advance to the CACC Tournament. The division champion is through to the double-elimination portion May 9-11 in Waterbury, CT. The second and third seeds in each division (North vs. North and South vs. South) will play a best-of-three series May 3-4 at the number seed two seed to finalize the four-team weekend in Connecticut.

One of the key players back is senior third baseman Kyle Walker (Wilmington, DE), a first team All-CACC and second team CCA All-East Region pick from last year who has evolved into the most consistent player and hitter in program history. One of the best teammates at the school, Walker enters the season first in school history with 168 hits, first with 99 RBI and second with a .334 batting average.

Senior southpaw Jake Kelchner (Collegeville, PA) arrived on campus last season and made an immediate impact, defining himself as of the region's best big-game pitchers. One of the school's hardest-working athletes, the first team All-CACC and second team CCA All-East Region selection already is tied for fifth in team history with seven wins, 10th outright with 72 strikeouts and 10th with 77 innings.

Junior center fielder Christian Petrillo (New Brunswick, NJ) was another debutant from last year who made himself a mainstay in the lineup, earning his selection as second team All-CACC. A top-notcher defender who remains a sparkplug on the bases, Petrillo begins this season first in team history with a .335 batting average and fifth with 37 stolen bases.

The infield also is highlighted by senior first baseman Garrett Musey (Millville, NJ), a 2021 first team All-CACC, second team NCBWA All-East Region and CACC Rookie of the Year pick before being named second team all-league the following year. Junior shortstop Braden Kolmansberger (Lewisberry, PA), a second team all-league selection in 2022, and senior second baseman Darin Miller (Mifflinburg, PA) solidify the middle of the infield with their reliable defense and once again will be keys this season.

Kolmansberger already has made news this season in being picked to the NCBWA Preseason All-East Region Team.

Senior Demetrius Johnson (Glassboro, NJ) hopes to continue his climb toward being one of the region's best in left field and sophomore Anthony Charles (Mullica Hill, NJ) looks to win the job in right.

Senior pitcher Justin Jump (Wilmington, DE) is coming off a solid fall that followed a spring in which he tossed a school-record 81 2/3 innings, ending with a school-record 76 strikeouts. He enters the year tied for fifth in school history with seven wins, fifth outright with 132 strikeouts and fifth with 131 innings.

Kevin Dillon (Mouth Bethel, PA) is coming off an outstanding freshman campaign and is a relentless strike thrower. He recorded a 39:14 strikeout-to-walk ration in notching a 5-1 record over 45 2/3 innings.

The Lightning are ranked fourth in the NCBWA Preseason Poll, joining CACC foes Post (eighth) and Wilmington (10th) in the top 10.

Goldey-Beacom (37-20) last season had another sensational campaign in which it hosted a regional for the first time and broke the school record for most wins. The team also received votes in the NCBWA national poll prior to the NCAA Tournament, was second in the NCAA East Regional rankings and won four times against schools that competed in the NCAA Division II World Series.

It also marked the third straight season the Lightning were part of the NCAA East Regional rankings.

Goldey-Beacom's first NCAA Tournament appearance was in 2021, when the squad notched two victories over nationally ranked Saint Thomas Aquinas. This was after the Lightning won the CACC South Division title, closing with a 22-9 overall record and 19-6 in the CACC.

The 2022 unit also excelled, ranked 14th nationally in the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll and recorded 27 wins.

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