SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Evangel Valor Baseball opens the 2023 season on Saturday (Feb. 4) afternoon against KCAC school, Southwestern College.
First pitch is set for 12:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday for the pair of doubleheader action.
OPENING STORYLINES
► Evangel has won three of its last four season openers, taking a series split with Kansas Wesleyan last season, 2-14 and 8-3.
► Saturday's doubleheader is the first match against Southwestern since March 11th of 1995, when the Valor claimed a 11-2 victory.
► Evangel head coach Tyler Henry begins his second season as the Valor's bench boss after serving as an assistant coach for his alma mater; Henry was all-conference performer on the diamond for Evangel in 2008, earning the Heart's Gold Glove Award at catcher while leading the club in home runs and RBIs; for his career, he hit over .300 and picked up NAIA Academic All-America honors in 2007 and 2008.
► Evangel logged a 19-29 campaign last spring, falling just short of qualifying for the Heart of America Conference Tournament.
► EU returns a pair of All-Heart Conference honorees from 2022, with graduate right-handed pitcher Austin Dill returning to lead the Valor mound corps, and senior outfielder Athanie Leeviraphan expected to lead the Valor on the offensive; Dill was Evangel's top performer on the mound throughout the 2022 season, posting a 7-4 overall mark with a 3.14 ERA, while logging career-best totals for wins (7), innings pitched (78.0), and breaking the Evangel record for strikeouts in a season with 89; Leeviraphan led the Valor with a .383 batting average and 21 stolen bases.
► The Valor have eight consecutive home games to open the season, hosting Presentation College next week for a Friday and Saturday pair of doubleheaders.
► Evangel home games in 2023 will be streamed live on the Evangel Sports Network in conjunction with the Heart Network. Fans can download the Heart Conference Network App for AppleTV, Amazon, or Roku and watch Evangel baseball games on their smart TV or streaming devices.
For the latest information on Evangel Athletics, visit Facebook at Facebook.com/EvangelValor, Twitter (@EvangelValor), or EvangelAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on their favorite EU teams by downloading the Evangel Athletics Gameday App through the App Store or Google Play.
—#OneValor—
