For the 10th time in the past 11 years Siena Baseball will begin its season in Florida, and for the eighth time in the last 10 seasons the Saints will open in Orlando at UCF. Siena commences its 2020 season in the Sunshine State with the start of a four-game weekend series against the Knights Friday night at 6 p.m. at John Euliano Park.
Sophomore righthander
Mike McCully draws his first collegiate start on Opening Night for Siena against lefthander and junior college transfer Colton Gordon in his UCF debut. Freshman righthander
John Lumpinski is slated to make his collegiate debut starting the first game of Saturday's doubleheader at 2 p.m., with sophomore southpaw
Ben Seiler likely to pitch the nightcap. The series concludes Sunday at 1 p.m.
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Under the direction of the longest tenured head coach in NCAA Division I Baseball history
Tony Rossi who enters his 51st season at the helm, Siena is looking to build upon last season's campaign in which they posted an 18-33 overall record including an even 12-12 mark in the MAAC. The Saints finished in seventh place in the conference standings and missed out on a MAAC Tournament berth by just one game, and are looking to prove the coaches wrong this spring after being predicted to finish seventh once again.
Siena returns seven of its nine starting position players from a year ago, headlined by Preseason All-MAAC selection
Zach Durfee. The senior rightfielder hit .304 last season and ranked fourth in the MAAC with a .419 on-base percentage. Fellow outfielder
Ryan McGee was named to the inaugural MAAC All-Rookie Team last season, and the sure-handed
Devan Kruzinski returns to anchor the defense up the middle at shortstop after tying for the team lead with 25 RBI as a freshman last spring.
Meanwhile, the Saints will rely on a young but deep stable of talented arms. Siena will be looking to replace four-year staff ace
Tommy Miller, as well as perennial weekend No. 2 starter
Brendan White who was drafted in the 26th Round by the Detroit Tigers following his junior season last spring. Overall, the Saints are in search of replacing 284 innings pitched from last year's squad which accounted for 67% of the team's total.
Siena's 2020 schedule is highlighted by matchups vs. five NCAA Tournament teams from last spring as well as 20 home dates at Connors Park. The Saints' annual ultra-competitive non-conference slate features contests vs. eight programs who each won 30 or more games last spring, including four NCAA Tournament teams, and three conference champions. Siena kicks off its 2020 campaign with 26 straight games away from home – including 24 true road games – to mark the program's longest road trip to open a season since a 34-game swing to begin the 2014 schedule. The Saints' diverse season-opening road trip features 14 opponents hailing from eight different states.
Projected to finish fifth out of nine teams according to the American Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, UCF posted a 36-22 overall record last season including an 11-13 mark in league action. Junior outfielder Dalton Wingo, who hit .294 with seven home runs and 44 RBI last season, was named a Preseason All-Conference selection. Perennial regional power UCF holds a 57-3 advantage all-time over Siena in a series dating back to 1977.
