The Fairmont State baseball team is set to open the 2023 season this weekend with two doubleheaders each on Saturday (Feb. 18) and Sunday (Feb. 19) at Salem in Nutter Fort, W.Va.
 
Fighting Falcons Facts

• The Falcons posted a 27-22 record in the 2022 season and made the Mountain East Conference Tournament for the first time since 2019.
• Reigning MEC Coach of the Year Matt Yurish leads the club in his second year and returns 19 position players and seven pitchers to the squad. The Fighting Falcons shared the MEC North Division Crown with Frostburg State and went 22-10 in MEC competition.
• Staunton, Va. native Noah Canterbury returns to the lineup after hitting .331 in his freshman campaign. Canterbury blasted three home runs and knocked 45 hits in his first season with the Falcons.
• Tyler Haskins started in 48 games in 2022 and logged a .283 batting average. Haskins has hit five home runs in his Fairmont State career.
• Sophomore Ryan Goff made 41 starts and appeared in 43 games as a freshman in 2022. Goff hit .278 and tallied seven extra-base hits.
• Dwayne Thomas started 40 games at first base and clubbed five home runs in 2022.
• Connor Cramer, a redshirt senior from Thurmont, Md., has made 37 appearances in his Fairmont State career. He has pitched two complete games and has struck out 125 batters in his time wearing a Fairmont State uniform.
• Ben Taylor mowed down 29 batters in 22.2 innings pitched as a reliever last season. Taylor recorded three saves and surrendered just four earned runs.
   

Scouting Salem
The Tigers were swept by Shippensburg in their opening weekend. Two of the three games were decided by less than two runs.
 
Sophomore infielder Luis Angarita went 4-for-8 last weekend with one double and one run scored. Graduate student outfielder Kaiden Zacharias drove in a run and collected two extra-base hits versus the Raiders. On the mound, Sam Schmitt started game three and delivered a quality start. Schmitt struck out seven and allowed one earned run on four hits.
 
J.T. Heenan begins his third season as the head coach of Salem baseball. Before his stint at Salem, Heenan was a graduate assistant and a player for WVU baseball.
 
Up Next
The Falcons are scheduled to travel to Millington, Tennessee for a three-game set with Kentucky Wesleyan starting on Feb. 24.