By Ryan Pickle ’24, staff writer 

The LVC baseball team will have an eventful weekend at McGill Field. 

Although in the off-season, the LVC baseball team is still working. Despite it being a cool fall, it does not stop the team from going out and getting some baseball activity in for the first few weeks of the semester.  

Starting on Friday, Sept. 29, at 3 p.m., the LVC baseball team will compete against one another in its annual class tournament. Blair Shaffer, a senior pitcher, is looking forward to the challenge of facing some familiar faces. 

“I think it creates a competitive team atmosphere,” Shaffer said. “Being able to play against guys that know your strengths and weaknesses makes it a good challenge for everyone.” 

The team has a lot of high expectations again this year after a second straight MAC Commonwealth title in 2023. Shifting to the other side to the MAC Freedom, Shaffer says that the team needs to continue to get better every day. 

“All the guys are pushing each other to be the best they can possibly be,” he said. “The juniors and seniors are establishing a culture and expectation of excellence that hopefully gets passed down to each class which is the case of many winning programs.” 

While the class tournament is conducted, the team will honor the success of the 2023 team on Saturday, Sept. 30, at 4 p.m. The team is inviting all graduated players along with parents, family and friends of the program to be there for the ceremony.  

The 2023 LVC baseball team was one for the record books. The team holds the records for wins in a season with 31 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament regional final for the first time, pushing the eventual national champion, Lynchburg, to a winner-take-all game. 

The games will continue through Sunday, Oct. 1, and the team encourages friends of the program to be a part of this event-filled weekend at McGill Field.