[Baseball] 2019 Season Preview: Baseball

MONTREAT, N.C. – A small taste of postseason play for the Montreat College baseball program in 2018 was not enough as the Cavaliers are entering 2019 hungry for more. With head coach Jason Beck in his third season at the helm of the program, the Cavs spent the offseason developing young players and adding experienced guys to the lineup with a simple goal in mind: a championship.

"The strength of this year's team will be the core of upperclassmen who will bring experience during the tough conference stretches and into postseason play. We will rely heavily on them to provide quality innings offensively and on the mound," said Coach Beck. "Along with this, we are focusing on helping our seniors develop for life after baseball."

More goals for the Cavs off the field are to continue developing quality young men who give back to the community and the game after the season is over, while also representing themselves in a Christ-like manner at all times.

Regarding the coaching staff, the Cavs brought in Montreat alumni Marshall McDonald as assistant coach and Michael Bonifay as the pitching coach this season. Both coaches have a wide variety of playing and coaching experience at all different levels, and have already impacted the program with their high baseball IQs.

The coaching staff will look with high expectations to a number of quality returners this season. Among those are seniors Jared Drayton and Aaron Takacs. Drayton registered 86 strikeouts in 76.1 innings pitched last season, and will prove to be a threat from the mound again this year after his progression in the offseason. Takacs will be a quality bat who can provide stability in the infield. He finished last season with a .333 batting average and .979 fielding percentage.

Top incoming players for the Cavs include a variety of upperclassmen transfers. Victor Hughes, a pitcher from Keiser University, will be in Montreat's starting rotation. The Cavs' lineup will also see an impact from a pair of junior college transfers: outfielder Alexander Soto and middle infielder Joseph Locascio. Another top incomer is NCAA DI transfer Bo Fricks who joins the middle of the lineup from Western Carolina.

"We've got a lot of older guys who are going to play key roles, and a lot of the incoming guys have produced at other colleges, so we're hoping they can use that experience to come in here and do even better for our program," said Coach McDonald. "I'm looking forward to watching them produce and help push the younger guys along. Hopefully we'll be able to make a run at the end and make it to the national tournament."

Key losses this year include catcher Kevynn Arias who was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 2018 MLB draft. The Cavs will also miss the offensive production of Ricky De Armas and Caleb Talton.

The Cavaliers' 2019 schedule was built tougher than years past. "With our recruiting and the talent we brought in, we feel like we are ready to compete now," said head coach Jason Beck. "We always have a tough conference schedule, so that combined with our load in non-conference play provides a quality schedule that will give our guys exposure and prepare them for postseason play."

The Cavs open their season on the road at Thomas University on Feb. 1, then return to the Treat for their home opening series against Cincinnati Christian University on Feb. 8. The squad spends the rest of the month in non-conference play featuring another pair of weekend series and a midweek series at home. They will then open conference play at preseason No. 12 Tennessee Wesleyan on March 1.

For the full schedule, click here.