SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University baseball team begins the 2023 season this weekend in North Carolina, as the Raiders are scheduled for a three-game series against Catawba.
 
SU will travel back to North Carolina the following weekend to face Mount Olive before returning home for a 12-game homestand that spans from February 18 to March 10.
 
Shippensburg finished third in the PSAC East with a conference record of 16-8 and an overall record of 26-23. The Raiders fell in extra innings to Slippery Rock in the first round of the PSAC Championships, 5-4.
 
There are 15 returnees from the 2022 season, such as junior Joe Barbera and graduate Noah Nabholz. Barbera, an all-conference first team selection, finished the 2022 season with a team-high .374 batting average, ranking ninth in the PSAC.
 
Nabholz was one half of a dynamic pitching duo with Nick Zegna last season, which saw both men finish in the top 5 in the PSAC in earned run average (ERA).
 
Backstopping the Raiders again this season is junior Andrew Chronister, who caught 15 runners stealing last season, tying ESU's Tim Haverstick for first in the PSAC.
 
Ten newcomers join the SU dugout this season, including sophomore transfer Jaxon Dalena and freshman pitcher J.T. Weaver.
 
An injection of new faces into a roster can sometimes present issues with team chemistry, though this year's Raiders team is showing that this isn't the case for them.
 
"All the new guys, they came in and it felt like they've been here for three years with me," junior Morgan Wyatt said. "We've all clicked since day one and it's been rolling since then. We're all feeling really good about each other."
 
Shippensburg's main focus this preseason centered around strengthening its team mentality.
 
"We've really been focusing a lot on communication, teamwork, and working hard to win," junior Gabe Stotler said. "A lot of working together and making sure we play as a team, nobody's for themselves."
 
Head Coach Matt Jones enters his 17th season managing the Raiders and has high expectations for his team.
 
"I think its every year [the expectation is] to play to the best of our abilities and hopefully make a playoff run at the end of the season," Jones said. "Our program, historically, has been really good and we need to live up to the expectations of our alums and the university."
 
Jones also stated that he enjoys coaching a team with a unique dynamic like this year's roster.
 
"It's an interesting group because you have freshmen, you have transfers," Jones said. "You have guys who were at other schools that are looking for another opportunity and kind of have a chip on their shoulder, but yet they are still embracing the team goals and working with their teammates to get better every day. It's been a lot of fun."