By Jon Conahan
St. John’s - St. John’s opening weekend was ruined by weather, but the Johnnies had as impressive a win as a team could have. They put up six runs in two innings against Cade Fisher, beating Florida 9-5 in their only game of the weekend. Looking ahead: at Houston 2/23-2/25.
Penn State - Penn State opened up their season with two wins over Army and a split with Monmouth. Head coach Mike Gambino has plenty to fix in Happy Valley and while that might take a few seasons, starting the season 3-1 is a step in the right direction. Looking ahead: at Stanford: 2/23-2/25
Maryland - Maryland started the Matt Swope era with an impressive 5-4 win against a tough Georgia Southern team. They split the next two and finished the first weekend 2-1. Jacob Orr looks to be a real contributor this season. Looking ahead: 2/23-2/25 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Pitt, and Washington in Kleburg Bank College Classic at Corpus Christi, TX
Seton Hall - The Pirates had as tough of an opening weekend as anyone in the country, taking on Iowa and Michigan State. They lost 5-2 against a Top-20 ranked Iowa team, beat Michigan State 10-4, and had an easy win against Merrimack. And, 2023 All-Big East first-team member Staus Pokrovsky didn’t miss a beat, going 6-13 with three doubles over the weekend. Looking ahead: at Georgia State 2/23-2/25
Rutgers - Rutgers doesn’t get tested until they take on North Carolina March 12. They took care of business against Winthrop, sweeping the series. Tony Santa Maria hit three home runs and drove in eight. Looking ahead: at Old Dominion 2/23-2/25
UConn - UConn went down to Tampa and did what they had to do, showing that their pitching staff is still one of the best in the Northeast. They beat Louisville, USF, and lost 2-1 to Indiana State. Looking ahead: at Cal 2/23-2/25
Lehigh - Kudos to Lehigh for an impressive opening weekend with wins over Michigan State and Iowa. An 8-4 win against a Top-20 team to start the season is as good as it gets. If this is what we’re getting from Lehigh, I’d expect them to win the Patriot League. Looking ahead: at Charleston Southern 2/23-2/25
Northeastern - A Northeastern team that’s ranked by many struggled in their opening weekend against Arizona, but I wouldn’t think much of it. The bats were quiet and as a Northeast Region school, that’s expected early on. Looking ahead: 2/23 Boston Red Sox (exhibition), 2/24-2/25 vs. Minnesota, all at Fort Myers, FL
Niagra - Niagra put the MAAC on notice with a sweep over a good Richmond program. It was the way they won that was impressive, too, proving that they have enough pitching to get the job done. Looking ahead: at Queens (NC) 2/23-2/25
Boston College - The new-look Boston College Eagles played well at the MLB Dessert Invitational, taking down Ohio State and Cal. It’ll be interesting to see how they look compared to others in the ACC this season, but this was a positive first step. Looking ahead: at Texas Arlington 2/23-2/25
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