CEDARVILLE — First pitch of the 2024 Yellow Jacket baseball season will take place this weekend during a three-game series in Tennessee.
Cedarville heads to Lincoln Memorial to play a single game on Friday with a doubleheader on Saturday.
Head Coach Matt Richter is back for his second campaign at the helm expecting lots of improvement for a program that posted 12 victories last spring.
Two-thirds of the Yellow Jacket roster is brand new including 17 freshmen.
Senior outfielder Lucas Rotello is the top offensive threat returning to the lineup. He batted a team-leading .320 with four homers and 31 RBIs.
The All-NCCAA Midwest Region selection topped the club in at bats (194), runs (36), hits (62), triples (5), and total bases (93).
Junior righthander Wyatt Fisher led the 2023 pitching staff with a 2.59 ERA and averaged 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
He made eight starts and tossed the team’s only complete game, but missed the back half of the schedule with an injury.
CU’s first ‘home’ games will be on February 23-24 against Saginaw Valley State at the Athletes in Action Complex in Xenia.
The first games on campus are scheduled for March 22-23 with a four-game G-MAC series vs. Findlay.
Cedarville was picked to finish 12th in the 2024 G-MAC Baseball Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
Softbal heads to Lee
CEDARVILLE — The earliest start in Cedarville softball history becomes reality this weekend with a road trip to Lee University.
The Lady Jackets will play the host Flames in a doubleheader on Friday with a single game on Saturday.
Kelsey Chapman, who begins her third season as head coach, welcomes back key veterans all over the diamond.
Senior pitchers Casey Bertke and Adaline Johnson return to the circle for the fourth season.
Bertke, a three-time All-G-MAC selection, has 34 career victories with a 1.93 earned run average while Johnson has 20 wins and a 3.31 ERA.
Classmates Faith Bergner, Kaley Clark, Lexi Parsons, and Mariah Wallace have combined to play more than 500 career contests.
Sophomore outfielder Dana Bertke is the top returning hitter after batting .400 as a rookie. She earned spots on the NFCA Division II Midwest Region Second Team and the All-G-MAC First Team.
She was joined on the G-MAC First Team by junior outfielder/pitcher Mackenzie Russell, who hit .286 to go along with 11 appearances in the circle.
Following the Lee series, Cedarville will pack in 20 more games featuring three tournaments prior to hosting Thomas More in the home and G-MAC opener on March 16.
Cedarville in the 2024 G-MAC Softball Preseason Coaches’ Poll was picked to finish sixth in the standings.
G-MAC tabs Eckert as Athlete of the Week
CEDARVILLE — Haleigh Eckert has been named the G-MAC Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week.
The senior from Mason broke the school record in the pole vault en route to claiming the honor.
Eckert cleared 13-feet 0.25-inches (3.97 meters) to win the event at the Wittenberg Showcase.
She improved upon her NCAA Division II provisional qualifying mark and her effort currently ranks No. 8 in the country.
The Yellow Jackets will host the Cedarville Collegiate Invitational on Friday inside the Doden Field House.
