BIRMINGHAM, ALA. – The Queens University of Charlotte baseball team is set to open their second Division 1 season this weekend as they travel for a three-game series against 2023 NCAA Regional qualifier Samford. The series will begin this Friday, February 16 at 5:00 p.m. EST on ESPN Plus. The first pitch of game two is slated for Saturday afternoon 3:00 p.m. EST and the series finale will wrap up on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. EST.
 
FROM COACH HENDRICK
"I'm excited to get going and we are ready to play someone else. I look forward to seeing this group compete and be tested right away with four straight games against teams that were in a 2023 regional."
 
QUEENS ROYALS (0-0 overall, 0-0 ASUN)

• Jake Hendrick is entering his first year as head coach of the Royals, becoming the third coach in the program's history. Prior to coming to the Queen City, Hendrick was the associate head coach and pitching coach at Austin Peay for one year. Under his guidance, the Governors staff fanned the fourth most batters in the league and made the ASUN Tournament last season. Prior to moving to Clarksville, Hendrick served as the head coach at Northwestern State University for seven seasons and produced six all-conference performers and three MLB Draft Picks, including all-star reliever Ryan Helsley. assistant head coach and pitching coach at Northwestern State for nine seasons.
• The Royals 2024 slate presents a challenge as Queens will square off against three D1 Baseball Preseason Top 25 opponents, including #9 Tennessee, #13 NC State, and #25 South Carolina. Also included in the schedule are NCAA Regional squads from last season in Samford and Lipscomb.
• The transfer portal has shifted the college athletics landscape and the Royals have made a splash bringing in 17 total transfers on the roster. Hendrick and company brought in eight transfers in their first year in the Queen City.
• Senior outfielder JJ Sousa returns for his second season as a Royal. Sousa hit .322 in his first season which was second on the team and ranked top-25 in the conference. The senior recorded 17 multi-hit games, and 27 RBIs which is the most of any returning Royal.
• Dillon Lewis returns to the lineup after slugging .456 last year, which included five home runs, six doubles, and a triple. Lewis is currently the Royals' all-time leader in career slugging percentage, as he has smashed a .556 percentage over his two years as a Royal.
• Rookie Jake Barbour is in his first season in Charlotte and is expected to make an immediate impact. The four-time Baseball Factory Preseason All-American won the 2023 American Legion N.C. State Championship and the 2022 NAA Conference Championship.
• Newcomer Matthew Corlew made the jump from Eastern Kentucky to Queens this offseason and is expected to find the starting lineup immediately. Originally drafted in the 23^rd round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Angels, the Lake Worth, Florida native attended Chipola for a season before settling in at EKU. With the Colonels, Corlew saw action in 21 games, including 10 starts, and hit .220 on the year.
• The Royals pitching staff will look significantly different from last year after losing extensive depth. The Royals staff is deep with right-handed options as 14 of their 16 arms are right-handers. Queens will go to Kansas State transfer Landry Jurecka in the season opener at Samford. Freshman Derek Westfall has earned the ball on Saturday afternoon before Seminole State transfer Andrew White rounds out the series on Sunday.

 
SAMFORD BULLDOGS (0-0 overall, 0-0 SoCon)

• Samford opens the season as the SoCon Preseason favorites after going 37-25 last season and making an appearance in the Auburn Regional of the NCAA Tournament.
• Brooks Rice was tabbed the league's preseason Pitcher of the Year. Rice spent the last two seasons at Northwest Mississippi Community College and struck out 58 batters in 59.2 innings of work.
• Joining Rice on the list of preseason honors were starting pitcher Will Lynch, relief pitcher Jake Holifield, catcher Luke Steele, and outfielder Josh Rodriguez. Steele was named the No. 19 catcher in the nation by D1Baseball.com after hitting .315 last year with 16 home runs and 51 runs batted in.
• Carson Lore was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List after posting a 6-3 record with a 3.94 earned run average. Lore fanned 80 batters while only surrendering 13 walks.
• The Bulldogs will look to replace 2023 SoCon Media Freshman of the Year and Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American, Jayden Davis. The Cookeville native transferred to Vanderbilt University after hitting .358 with 23 extra-base hits.
• Sophomore Lucas Steele is a key offensive returner for the Bulldogs after garnering SoCon Coaches Freshman of the Year praise Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American recognition. Steele registered a .315 batting average and finished second on the team with 16 home runs, 15 doubles, and 51 runs batted in.
• Tony David enters his third season at the helm of the Bulldogs. Under his leadership, Samford is 65-54 and coming off a season in which they set a single-season record with 103 home runs.

 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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