For the 10^th time in the past 13 seasons, Siena Baseball will celebrate the start of its campaign at UCF when the Saints take on the Knights this weekend in Orlando. The season-opening three-game series starts Friday night at 6 p.m. at John Euliano Park.
 
Siena enters the 2023 season looking to build off an 11-37 overall record last spring, in which the Saints finished tied for eighth in the MAAC with an 8-15 league mark. Siena was predicted to finish tied for eighth again this season, but the Saints have their sights set on much loftier goals.
 
"Fall ball went really well, the assistant coaches are doing a great job getting these guys ready working hard every day," said head coach Tony Rossi, who is set to enter his 54^th season leading the program as the longest tenured head coach in NCAA Division I Baseball history. "We've got 16 new guys, a lot of freshmen, so that's a good thing because everybody is eager to go and meshing with the guys returning."
 
Siena's 16 newcomers comprises nearly half of the team's 37-man Opening Day roster – highlighted by 12 true freshmen including pitcher Ryan Bates and infielder Aiden Stewart, who are projected to be the No. 1 and No. 3 ranked impact freshmen in the league, respectively, according to D1 Baseball. The Saints return five members from their everyday lineup from a year ago in addition to leading hitter Kobe Stenson (.308), who missed half the season due to injury. On the mound, Arlo Marynczak returns for a fifth season to bolster the rotation after ranking seventh in the MAAC with 81 strikeouts last spring, despite making 13 of his 17 appearances in relief. 
 
Marynczak is set to get the Opening Night nod for Siena, with fellow righthander Bates slated to start Game Two Saturday at 4 p.m. and junior transfer southpaw Sebastian Bentz toeing the slab in the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m. Each of the first two games of the series will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
The Saints are set to commence their 2023 campaign with a season-opening 27-game road trip spanning seven different states over the first 44 games of the season. Siena previously opened both the 2001 and 2003 seasons with 24 true road games, and played their first 34 games away from home – albeit with a relocated home series to a neutral site mixed in – to kick off the program's 2014 MAAC Championship season. The Saints will play their first eight games – and 11 of their first 13 contests – in Florida.
 
UCF posted a 35-25 overall record last spring including a 14-10 mark in the American Athletic Conference. The Knights were predicted to finish third out of eight teams according to the AAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, with pitchers Kyle Kramer and Ben Vespi earning Preseason All-Conference honors.
 
UCF leads the all-time series with Siena 64-3, and has won 26 straight. The Saints most recent victory with a 7-4 triumph on Feb. 16, 2013.