LMU baseball preparing for new season
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — As spring thaws out the winter season, the baseball season also begins to heat up.
Last season the Lions finished sixth in the conference, but the sights are set higher for 2023.
“Going on the road to Oklahoma State and Vanderbilt will be a great opportunity for our program,” said head coach Nathan Choate, “it will help prepare us for the highly competitive WCC schedule.”
The Lions will travel to a pair of perennial top-10 opponents in the Cowboys and the Commodores.
The Commodores are just two years removed from a College World Series Championship loss to Mississippi State and reached the Corvallis Regional Final last season before falling to the host Beavers.
The Cowboys hosted the Stillwater Regional last season in what turned out to be a hugely offensive weekend. Oklahoma State scored ten runs or more in all but one of their five games, falling twice to the victor Arkansas.
Choate enters his fourth season at LMU carrying a 48-71-1 overall record while going 27-27 in the West Coast Conference.
The Lions are led by ABCA Third Team All-American Diego Baqueiro at third base.
“This is the most depth we have had here in quite some time. We return almost our entire lineup and top five pitchers from a year ago,” noted Choate when asked about how the team has improved since the WCC Tournament exit in 2022.
And while the team returns a lot of familiar faces, there are some new names running around Page Stadium as well.
Five transfer pitchers find their way to the bluff in 2023, including a pair from Power 5 conference in David Watson and Seamus Barrett. Cole Chimenti (Long Beach State), Zach Kirby (East Tennessee State), and Austin Schroeder (Palomar College) round out a group that gives balance and experience to the team according to Choate.
The Lions will host the Spartans of San Jose State in the home-opening series taking place February 17-19 at Page Stadium.
BYU visits Westchester in its’ final season as members of the WCC beginning on March 16 and continuing to March 18.
Other notable home matchups include a March 21 matchup with Cal State Fullerton, April 14-16 against the 2022 WCC regular season champion Gonzaga Bulldogs, an April 25 meeting with perennial powerhouse UCLA, a home series with the 2022 WCC Tournament champion San Diego Toreros, and a May 16 meeting with the Trojans.
The top six finishers in the conference will have the opportunity to compete for the WCC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament from May 24-27 at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton, Calif. in the WCC Tournament.
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