Baseball Season Opens with Four-Game Set at Norfolk State

SCHEDULE PAGE (LINKS TO LIVE STATS) | GAME NOTES (PDF)

***Friday's opener has been moved due to inclement weather in Norfolk. MSU and NSU will now play a 9 inn./7 inn. Doubleheader on Saturday, and a 7/7 Doubleheader on Sunday. 

MOREHEAD, Ky. – The wait is over, as the first pitch of the Morehead State baseball team's season is set for Friday in Norfolk, Va., where the Eagles take on the Norfolk State Spartans. The four game set marks the second ever meeting between the two schools on the diamond.

Friday's season opener is slated for a 3:00 p.m. ET start, with Saturday's doubleheader beginning at 12:00 p.m. and Sunday's finale set for 12:00 p.m. as well. Neither audio nor streaming is available, but live stats will be provided.

INSIDE THE SERIES
2022 Records

• Morehead State (27-27, 14-10 OVC)
• Norfolk State (15-32, 12-18 MEAC*)
  • *NSU is beginning its first season in the Northeast Conference.

Previous Meeting & Series History

• Morehead State has only faced Norfolk State in one series prior to the 2023 season opening series.
• MSU swept the three game set between the two teams in 2020, and holds a 3-0 record vs. the Spartans.

MOREHEAD STATE PROBABLE STARTERS (2022 STATISTICS)
Game One: Luke Helton
-    2022: 14 Starts, 3-6, 5.65 ERA, 73.1 IP, 60 K

Game Two: Grant Herron
-    2022: 17 Appearances (9 Starts), 4-3, 4.99 ERA, 39.2 IP, 43 K

Game Three: Matt Bettio
-    2022: 16 Appearances (3 Starts), 3-1, 8.71 ERA, 31.0 IP, 26 K
         
Game Four: Joe Rotkis
-    2022: 19 Appearances (3 Starts), 2-2, 6.18 ERA, 39.1 IP, 27 K, 1 SV

NOTABLE

• Morehead State returns seven of nine regular starters from the 2022 lineup. Last season, the seven returning regular starters combined to hit 63 home runs.
• Among those returning in 2023, first baseman Jackson Feltner followed up his 2022 First Team All-OVC sophomore campaign by winning 2022 Appy League Player of the Year. Feltner was picked as the Preseason Player of the Year in the OVC on three occasions leading up to the season by the OVC, Perfect Game, and D1 Baseball.
• Ryley Preece is back in centerfield for Morehead State, and holds a 36 game reached base streak – just 16 games shy of former teammate Alex Jacobs' school record 52 game streak in 2022.
• Roman Kuntz (Second Team All-OVC) and Nick Gooden (First Team All-OVC) return to Mik Aoki's squad as well. Kuntz was one of four Eagles to hit double-digit homers in 2022 (10), doing so in just 40 games. Gooden hit .332 for the season, with a .400 average in OVC play to go along with a .991 fielding percentage which ranked first among MSU infielders.
• Colton Becker is set to make his 100^th consecutive start at shortstop in the season opener. Last season, Becker hit .283 and finished in a tie for the team lead in doubles with 17.
• John Bakke is back for his 6^th season as a member of the MSU baseball team, the only remaining member of the 2018 OVC Championship team that reached the Clemson Regional. Bakke led the team in strikeouts last year, fanning 70 batters in 60 innings across 26 appearances, including five starts.
• Jarrett Miller led the Eagles in appearances last season, emerging from the bullpen in 30 of MSU's 54 games. Over the summer, Miller honed his craft as a member of the Macon Bacon Summer Ball team. 
• Ryan Grabosch looks to be the starting catcher for the Eagles after transferring to Morehead State from New Mexico State, where he hit .288 for the Aggies in 2022.
• Isaias Guzman will begin the season at third base for MSU, after a solid season in 2022 – his first as an Eagle. Guzman hit seven home runs after returning from an injury in April.
• Game one starter Luke Helton finished top 10 in the OVC in innings pitched last season with 73.1. Helton struck out nine batters on two seperate occasions last season, including the last day of the regular season in a win over Austin Peay.
• Game two starter Grant Herron was the only pitcher on Morehead State to win OVC Pitcher of the Week last season after an 11 strikeout performance vs. UT Martin in late April.
• Game three starter Matt Bettio picked up the win in MSU's first victory of the 2022 campaign, throwing 4.2 innings in a 17-5 blowout over Kennesaw State. 
• Game four starter Joe Rotkis had a fine 2022 in his own right, and picked up his first collegiate save to seal a season sweep of Marshall in May. 
• Head Coach Mik Aoki is heading into his fourth season at the helm of the MSU baseball program after taking over in 2020. Aoki has led two different schools to NCAA Regional berths (Boston College & Notre Dame), and heads into 2023 with a chance to make it three.