By: Chandler Wold, Nick Palermo, Ben Heideman, Hector Torres, and YodelvyGarcia
The Eagles 2019 Baseball season is right around the corner as the 2019 schedule has been released. The Eagles will be led by first-year Head Coach Johnathan Burton. Burton spent the last 8 years at Lindsey Wilson College in Kentucky. At LWC, he made an appearance in two World Series, leading multiple teams to 40+ win seasons. Alongside Burton, Coach John Harris will be back for his second straight year and Coach Dylan Powers will be joining the coaching staff as a Graduate Assistant.
The Eagles will look very different from last year’s Opening Round Championship and World Series team after graduating 13 seniors. This year the Eagles only have three seniors: Senior Infielder Chandler Wold, Senior Pitcher Connor Hawkins and Senior Pitcher Jesus Palacios. Coach Burton spent a lot of time recruiting, bringing in 13 transfers that will look to fill the shoes of last year’s Seniors. The Eagles will be a young team this year but have a lot of talent as they look to continue the success from where they left off last year. With 20 juniors on the roster, the next two years look bright for Reinhardt, as they are hungry for another appearance in Lewiston. The Eagles will start off ranked 20th in the National Rankings and are predicted to finish 3rd in the AAC behind Tennessee Wesleyan and Bryan College.
On February 8th, Coach Burton’s era will begin as the Reinhardt baseball team will kick off their 2019 season against the University of Pikeville at Ken White Field, at 3 pm. They will finish off the three-game series with the University of Pikeville on Saturday, February 9th in a double-header matchup. The Eagles will then head to Talladega on February 12th for their first road opener of the season. They look to open up the season strong and make a statement against a solid Pikeville team.
A four-game weekend series will begin on February 15th and finish on February 16th at home against preseason No. 14 Campbellsville (Ky.).The Eagles will then travel to play at powerhouse and preseason ranked 3rd Georgia Gwinnett on Feb. 20 for a mid-week contest. The Eagles will then finish out the month of February hosting William Carey University (Miss) and Brewton Parker (Ga).
The Eagles begin AAC play on March 1st with a home series against Bluefield (Va.) followed by a non-conference series with Georgetown (Ky.) at home. The Eagles will then hit the road to face off with Toccoa Falls (Ga.). AAC play will get started back up as Milligan College comes into town for a three-game set. Reinhardt will then travel down to Cochran, Ga to face off vs. No. 17 Middle Georgia State University. The Eagles stay on the road as they head to North Carolina to face off with St. Andrews University in a conference matchup. Reinhardt will come home and take on the toughest part of their schedule as they face No. 4 Faulkner, No. 15 Bryan, and No. 3 Georgia Gwinnett in a six-day span. The Eagles finish the month of March at Montreat College in a conference matchup.
The Eagles start April 1st with (RV) Cumberland University and on April 2nd, Talladega College comes into Waleska to play the Eagles. Reinhardt returns to the AAC schedule as they travel to Point University to take on the Skyhawks. Reinhardt comes back home for games against No. 17 Middle Georgia State, No. 12 Tennessee Wesleyan, and Toccoa Falls before going on the road to Union College on April 19th. They will stay on the road as they go to Cumberland University for a midweek game. The Eagles will finish their season at home vs. Truett-McConnell. Senior Day will take place on April 27th.