Baseball Season Starts February 10

by MJ Lux

(DUNDALK, MD) - CCBC Dundalk baseball is coming off its first playoff berth under head coach Matt Backert. Backert is entering his fourth season at the helm for the Lions. When asked what he is most looking forward to he said, "I'm super excited for this season. I think the thing that excites me the most is the experience and depth we have this year. We had some success last season, achieving our goal of making the playoffs, and we're returning practically every starter from that team and have added a group of freshmen that have the ability to make an immediate impact. We have a determined hard-working group of guys that have established a different goal for this year, a group that's not satisfied with just making the playoffs." The Lions are looking to have a strong 2023 campaign.

From last year's team, the Lions will be without first team All-Maryland JUCO catcher Doyle McNew. McNew hit .416 with 6 big flies and 28 RBIs, while only striking out 10 times in 108 plate appearances. He will continue his baseball career at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, a Division I program in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

The Lions' offense this season will be led by GT Maggay, Sam Richie, Ivan Gonzalez, and Mike Newsome who all hit .300 or better last season. Newsome made the Honorable Mention All-Maryland Juco team, he also led the team in homeruns last season with 7, slugged .565 and had an on base percentage of .404. He drove in 23 runs while swiping 4 bags. Maggay had 27 hits for the Lions and 4 homeruns.  Richie was second on the team in hits with 29 and a slugging percentage of .476. Gonzalez was versatile in the Lions lineup showing he could barrel up the baseball while being able to speed around the bases. He stole 7 bags out of 7 attempts while having 24 hits in 25 games played. All names listed have the ability to drive the ball in any situation in the contest.  

CCBC Dundalk is bringing back plenty of pitching depth this season as Ben Hall, Isaiah Coxon, and Evan Giordani look to lead the pack. Hall led the team in innings pitched with 59, along with 44 strikeouts. Giordani led the team in appearances with 14 mostly all coming out of the bullpen. Coxon followed Hall in second most games started with 6 and tied with Giordani in the second most in wins for the club.

CCBC Dundalk's season will start Feb. 10 when they will face off against Pro-5 Academy in Raleigh, NC for a double-header. The Lions have 26 non-conference games scheduled in a 53-game season. Their most notable opponents this season are Frederick Community College who won the MD JUCO conference last season and went to the Division II JUCO College World Series in Enid, OK. Delaware Tech who went 32-10 (10-2 in conference) who lost in the Region XIX Tournament last season. Lastly D1 JUCO Harford Community College who made it to the D1 JUCO CWS.

Expectations are high for the Lions who look to build from their season success last season in hopes to make a positive run in the conference tournament and punch their ticket in Enid, OK for the D2 Juco CWS.