PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – The 2023 Pace University baseball season begins in ten days, on Feb. 25, with a weekend conference triple-header against Saint Michael’s.

THE SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE

The Setters will compete in 51 games, 26 of which will be Northeast-10 Conference matchups, the other 25 out of league play. It will mark the most contests the program has played in a single season since playing 52 games back in 2016.

In the NE10 Pre-Season Coaches’ Poll, Pace was slotted to finish fifth in the Southwest Division.

The first 11 games take place on Finnerty Field, followed by a trip to sunny West Palm Beach, Florida, where the Blue & Gold will face Bentley in four non-conference encounters.

The Setters must stack up wins in the month of March, with a softer schedule devoid of games against heavyweights, because the month of April is going to be rough and will dictate where this team stands in the long run, as Pace faces all four of the squads above them in the division’s pre-season poll, as well as last year’s championship finalist.

April begins with a three day, four-game home rodeo with New Haven, followed the next weekend by a pair of double-headers at top-seeded Adelphi.

Mid-April brings Assumption, last season’s runner-up, to Pleasantville for a double-header, followed the very next day by a trip to Worcester, Massachusetts, to face the Greyhounds a third time.

Late April sees the Setters welcome Le Moyne for the final four home NE10 games, before wrapping up the conference portion of the season at Southern Connecticut State with two more double-headers.

Pace takes on Molloy, home-and-away, to put a bow on the regular season before a potential playoff bid.

LAST SEASON

Pace narrowly missed the playoffs last spring for the first time since 2014, going 23-20 overall, with an 11-13 conference record.

THE LINEUP

The Setters boast one of the very best outfields in all of Division-II, bolstered by Mitch McCabe and Luke Jacobi, two veteran stalwarts, both coming off NE10 1^st-Team selections in 2022.

McCabe hit 11 home-runs (second best in the conference), on impressive .719 slugging (third best) and .359 batting (eighth best) percentages.

McCabe and Jacobi were also both top-6 in on-base percentage, at .472 and .462 respectively.

Jacobi led the team in hits with 57, and RBI with 45.

In between McCabe in left and Jacobi in right will be Matt Rinaldi, who batted .327, had 14 RBI, and scored 37 runs last season in the lead-off spot.

Pace’s infield will rely on the likes of Nate Carminucci (1^st base), Andrew Oakland (2^nd base), and Anthony Labita (3^rd base), with Mason Baronian at short, all quality returners from last season.

The battery looks to be spearheaded by transfer student Hunter Goldstein behind the plate.

The pitching rotation features a strong core of arms, led by ace righty Patrick Gleason (6-5), along with Christian Aich (8-5), Michael Roll (10-6), Marco Siracusa (2-1), Dan Brown (2-0), and Nelson Arroyo (4-4).

COACH

Hank Manning begins his 23^rd season as Pace head coach. In his tenure, Manning has been named NE10 Coach of the Year once