Charleston, W.Va – The Golden Eagle Baseball Program was picked as the pre-season favorite in the Mountain East Conference for the first time since 2021.
 
UC received 10 first place votes in the South Division and totaled 65 points overall, more than any team from both the North and South Divisions. Additionally, Charleston was tabbed 6^th in the Atlantic Region by the NCBWA.  
 
Head Coach Robbie Britt is set to begin his fourth season at the helm of Charleston Baseball. In his first three seasons (including a Covid shortened 2020) his teams have combined for 82 wins, two regular season MEC Championships, two NCAA Atlantic Regional Appearances, and an MEC Tournament Championship. Over that span the teams went 49-11 combined in Mountain East Conference play.
 
In 2022, The Golden Eagles went 40-18 making their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Their season came to an end in the winner takes all championship game of the Atlantic Regional in Millersville after falling to East Stroudsburg University 6-3. They were just three wins shy of a Division 2 World Series berth in Cary, NC.
 
"We feel good about being back on top," comment Coach Britt on the preseason poll, "but there is still a lot of work left to do. I always tell our guys, 'Don't get caught up in the noise. We have one task to accomplish every day, and that's to be better today than we were yesterday'".
 
"This team certainly has potential to continue our outstanding tradition of excellence." Britt concluded.
 
While Coach Britt is always humble in his evaluations of his teams each year, there is no denying the "tradition of excellence" UC Baseball has established in recent years. The past four seasons, Golden Eagle teams have come agonizingly close to clinching a berth to the World Series. In 2018 Charleston won its first ever MEC tournament Championship, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. They went 2-2 in the Atlantic Regional of 7 teams, falling in the quarterfinal to host Millersville University. It would be the first time in program history that the Golden Eagles reached the NCAA Tournament.  
 
The next season, UC would twice find themselves just one win away from Cary. Capturing their second consecutive MEC Tournament Championship and earning another automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, Charleston sped their way through the Atlantic Regional, defeating the likes of Gannon University, West Chester University, and then Gannon again in the championship. They would take the first game of a best of three series against Mercyhurst University in the Super Regional, before dropping the final two games to the Lakers, ending their hopes of a World Series berth.
 
They would have another chance in 2021, this time as the host school for the five-team Atlantic Region championship. After falling in their first game to Bloomsburg on a walk-off home run in extra innings, Charleston would rattle off two decisive victories against West Virginia State and Bloomsburg before falling in the semifinal to Millersville University.
 
As mentioned previously, Charleston would find themselves in yet another Atlantic Region clash in 2022. After dropping the first game to host Millersville and falling to the loser's bracket of the double-elimination tournament the Golden Eagles would stave off elimination for three consecutive games. Against Gannon University, All-MEC selection Colt Webb threw a complete game shut-out and Charleston's season remained alive. The offense would batter an exhausted host in Millersville University placing them in the Atlantic Region 2 championship game against six-seeded East Stroudsburg University. After a decisive 16-3 victory in game one of the championship, the offense ran out of steam and ESU triumphed 6-3, ending the Golden Eagles' season.
 
Charleston is positioned to dominate the Mountain East Conference again in 2023 and compete in another NCAA tournament. They return a few key pieces on offense including First Team All-MEC catcher Tyler Dellerman. Dellerman led the Golden Eagles in hits, home runs, RBI, and OPS last season and made a strong case for MEC's player of the year.
 
MEC All-Freshman team selection, Kyle West, jumped onto the scene in 2022 collecting 14 doubles, stealing 16 bases, and hitting .344 with eight home runs, and five triples before his season ending injury late in the season.
 
Another offensive weapon comes in the form of Junior outfielder, Brayden McCallister. After fighting his way into the starting lineup midway through the 2022 campaign, the Charleston native led the Golden Eagles in average hitting at a .405 clip with five doubles, two home runs, and a triple in his 74 at bats.
 
Atlantic Region Honorable Mention, Eric Chartier, rounds out the returning offensive core from last season. In 108 at bats, Chartier hit .352 with 15 doubles, 28 RBI, two home runs, and a triple.
 
Hector Carreon-Herrara, a transfer from Eastern Oregon University, also has shown potential early in the spring season for the Golden Eagles. "He has a chance to get some big at-bats for us this spring," commented Britt on his January transfer acquisition. Herrera, a sophomore out of San Diego, led his former team in home runs and doubles with four round trippers and 14 doubles. He started in 32 games and hit .308 on the season.
 
On the other side of the ball, Graduate student and Atlantic Region second team selection Ethan Soderna will likely be the ace of the Charleston staff. With a team leading 10 wins on the bump and an ERA of 3.72, Soderna will likely get the ball in a must win situation for the foreseeable future.
 
Owen MacNeil, Drew Beckner, and Cole Peschl will be important pieces in the Charleston staff as well. MacNeil was third on the team last year with an ERA of 3.99, throwing 56 innings and striking out 58. Beckner, a sophomore out of Westerville, OH was primarily the fourth starter throughout the year. He tossed 49 innings while striking out 61 and holding opponents to just a .211 average in his 12 starts. Peschl, another West Virginia native, worked solely in relief last year, appearing in 16 games, throwing 25 innings, fanning 29, and boasting a .253 BAA.
 
-UC-