St. Edward's baseball opens its season today against Texas A&M-Kingsville as part of a four-game series in Kingsville, Texas.
Both teams played on near equal terms last season, splitting the regular-season series 2-2 in Austin, Texas, with St. Edward's narrowly outscoring Kingsville 23-22 through four games. Each team went on to qualify for the NCAA Regional, falling in the final. St. Edward's was voted fifth in the NCBWA regional rankings, followed by Kingsville at sixth, with the two teams separated by one vote.
"They're preseason polls. We were 16th in the country in one poll, fifth in the conference in another, and started eighth or ninth last year and made a regional final," St. Edward's head baseball coach Bryan Faulds says. "It is what it is. Once you step foot on the field, none of that matters. It doesn't matter if you're first or 13th. We all start 0-0."
WESLEY GAFFORD leads St. Edward's and has racked up many preseason accolades, including LSC Pitcher of the Year, preseason NCBWA all-region team, and NCBWA All-American Second Team.
"He works his butt off and doesn't care about the accolades. He just wants to help his team win. He expects to win," Faulds explains. "It doesn't matter who we're playing. He's going to throw strikes, compete in the zone, and give us an opportunity to win."
The 6-foot-7 senior from Georgetown, Texas, led the LSC with 101 strikeouts and finished second in ERA (3.91), just behind Texas A&M-Kingsville's Brandon Symmank (3.63). The Hilltoppers also return starting pitchers JACK GRANACK (6-4, 6.30 ERA) and LUKE SHORT (4-5, 5.74 ERA).
Texas A&M-Kingsville returns Alll-LSC Third Team pitcher Kobe Jaramillo, who won six games with 66 strikeouts and a 4.61 ERA. He'll return some run support in 2022 LSC Newcomer of the Year Nick Wolff and All-LSC returners Colton Taylor, Shelby Becker, and Jack Chapman.
Wolff is a preseason all-region catcher who hit .391 last season with 12 home runs and 54 RBI. Taylor led the bullpen with eight saves and three wins to earn All-LSC Third Team, and Becker and Chapman hit .351 and .371, respectively.
Catcher CULLEN AINSWORTH is the Hilltoppers' other returning all-conference player, hitting .333 with 60 hits, 18 doubles, eight home runs, 62 RBI, and 54 runs scored.
"It's going to be very competitive with two good teams going at it," St. Edward's head baseball coach Bryan Fauld says. "They lost in the regional final to Angelo State, and we lost in the regional final to Mesa. We both return some offensive pieces, and even though they may have lost some starters, they have a good coaching staff that knows what they're doing. So it's going to be a battle. That's a tough place to play."
St. Edward's and Texas A&M-Kingsville open the season on Friday at 3:00 p.m. They play a doubleheader on Saturday, with the first pitch at 2:00 p.m., and conclude the series on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
