FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga. -- The Georgia Southwestern baseball team is set to open their season this weekend, Feb. 1-3, as they will compete against Emmanuel (Ga.) and Salem University in Franklin Springs, Ga., at the Tommy Carey Baseball Field.
Salem and Emmanuel (Ga.) throws the first pitch of the 2019 season at noon, followed by GSW vs. Emmanuel (Ga.) at 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 1. On Saturday, GSW and Emmanuel (Ga.) will kick things off with a noon game as Salem and Emmanuel (Ga.) will play immediately following. GSW will play their final game Sunday at 11 a.m. against Salem University.
First Year head coach Josh McDonald has taken over the realm at GSW last summer and is looking forward to a new season with new opportunities. With the addition of assistant coaches Matt LaMothe and Sherrard Freeman, they're only focused on continuing the hard work they put in during the fall season and carrying the momentum over.
The Hurricanes, who was picked to finish 11th place in the PBC Preseason Coaches Poll, return Jonathan Martin, who was recently named a Southeast Region player to watch by the Collegiate Baseball newspaper. The lefty outfielder posted a .962 fielding percentage and had 72 pickoffs along with getting 21 RBIs, eight doubles, two triples and one home run. The Collegiate Baseball newspaper also named Cole Garrett as the Southeast Region newcomer to watch for this upcoming season. Infielder Jason Baita also returns for the Hurricanes. He led with a .433 slugging percentage while getting 11 doubles, three triples and three home runs last season.
Links to this weekends tournament are below:
GSW will play their first home game on Tuesday, Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. as they are inviting Shorter University to town for their season opener.