LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University baseball team will open the season in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, by competing in four games against three opponents in the Jerry Bryson Classic hosted by Gardner-Webb.

Bellarmine's first two games will be neutral-site contests. The Knights will make their season debut at 1 p.m. (ET) Friday against No. 5 Virginia. Bellarmine will then play two games Saturday — at 11 a.m. against NJIT and at 7 p.m. against Gardner-Webb — before wrapping up the Classic by facing the host Diamond 'Dogs a second time at 3 p.m. Sunday.

Bellarmine returns four starting position players in senior outfielders Matt Higgins and Jacob Mulcahy, senior shortstop Clayton Mehlbauer and sophomore first baseman Davis Crane. Higgins earned ASUN Preseason All-Conference honors after receiving second-team ASUN All-Conference plaudits last season, while Crane was an ASUN All-Freshman Team selection.

Junior righthander Nolan Pender was a conference starter in the latter half of last season. Junior righthanders Devin Ecklar and Ryan Johnson, senior righthander Matt Craven and sophomore lefthander Gavin Braunecker are returners who logged at least 10 appearances on the mound.

ABOUT VIRGINIA
There will no easing into 2022 for Bellarmine. Last season, Virginia earned its fifth berth in the College World Series in the last 13 years, winning four straight games to advance after dropping the opener in the NCAA Columbia Regional and then claiming its NCAA Super Regional against Dallas Baptist after once again falling in the first game before rallying with two victories in the best-of-three series. The Cavaliers opened the CWS with a 6-0 win over Tennessee before being eliminated after losses to Mississippi State and Texas.

Virginia, which finished 36-27 last year, was picked to finish second in the ACC preseason coaches' poll. The Cavaliers are ranked No. 5 in Baseball America's preseason poll and are also nationally ranked by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (No. 24), USA Today Coaches Poll (No. 21) and the NCBWA (No. 17). 

Sophomore Kyle Teel received second-team Preseason All-America acknowledgement as a designated hitter from D1Baseball.com. Additionally, Teel, also a catcher, was recognized on the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List after batting .335 with nine home runs and 41 RBIs last season, outputs which led to a slew of freshman All-America accolades. He's among six returning starting position players.

ABOUT NJIT
NJIT was also an NCAA Tournament team last season. The Highlanders received their first-ever invitation after capping a nine-game winning streak with two victories in the America East Conference Tournament, earning the nod for the conference's automatic bid after inclement weather forced the cancellation of the tournament's championship day.

NJIT finished the year 27-24 while setting a new program record for wins. Fifth-year seniors Jake Rappaport and Julio Marcano both garnered All-Region accolades last season. Rappaport was a first-team closer who amassed eight wins and 11 saves, while Marcano was a second-team outfielder who batted .322 with 10 homers and 42 RBIs. Both were first-team All-America East.

ABOUT GARDNER-WEBB
Gardner-Webb is coming off a 29-23 campaign that included a 27-13 mark in the Big South. The Diamond 'Dogs' third-place finish in the league represented their best since joining the conference in 2009.

Pitchers Bobby Alcock and Kyle Skidmore were listed by Collegiate Baseball News as two of the Big South's top players to watch for 2022. Sporting a high-90s fastball, Alcock went 2-1 with a 4.83 ERA last season and fanned 57 batters. Skidmore, Gardner-Webb's top reliever last season, went 5-1 with a save in 21 appearances.

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