Story written by Anthony Perry '08, Fisher College Associate Director of Athletics/Sports Information
GWINNETT, GA. – The Continental Athletic Conference announced earlier today that the Fisher College Baseball team has been selected to compete for the 2023 CAC Baseball Championship. The annual conference tournament will take place May 6-8 and is being hosted by Georgia Gwinnett College at the Grizzly Baseball Complex in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
The double-elimination tournament will feature the tournament host and top seed Georgia Gwinnett, who is nationally ranked at #4 in the latest NAIA Baseball Top 25 Coaches poll. The Falcons earned the tournament's second seed and will battle the third seeded Florida National University. Rounding out the field is the tournament's fourth seed, Iowa Wesleyan University.
Georgia Gwinnett and Iowa Wesleyan will kick off tournament play on Saturday, May 6th with a 1pm first pitch. The Fisher and Florida National contest will be the nightcap with first pitch scheduled for 5pm. The 2023 CAC Championship is scheduled for Monday, May 8th with both finalists earning a spot to represent the conference in the NAIA Opening Round.
This marks the 19th consecutive season that the Falcons have qualified for the conference tournament, dating back to their first appearance in 2004. Fisher has finished as the conference runner-up the previous two seasons and advanced to the NAIA Opening Round.
The Falcons currently own a 25-17 overall record, the 19th consecutive season of 20+ wins, and are led by junior Ivanuel Hernandez (Caguas, Puerto Rico). The left-handed hitting catcher/designated hitter boosts an impressive .510 batting average with 12 home runs and 59 runs batted in – all are chasing single season program records for Fisher. He was named the CAC Hitter of the Week three times this season and is in consideration for conference player of the year. Sophomore Jeremy Renta (Caguas, Puerto Rico) is also enjoying a breakout season as the everyday third baseman is batting .485 with five home runs and 35 RBI. Freshman Yariel Salinas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) is having an impressive rookie campaign, batting .356 with seven homers and 42 RBI while graduate student transfer Tim Catalano (Brewster, N.Y.) checks in with a .438 batting average, two home runs and 41 RBI.
Head Coach Scott Dulin, who eclipsed the 600 career win mark as a head coach back on April 21, will have plenty of arms to chose from as his game one starter. Senior left-hander Ronald Luke (Malden, Mass.) is 4-1 this season with a 3.10 earned run average while fellow southpaw Yadiel Cuadrado (Yabucoa, Puerto Rico) touts a 5-3 overall record and a 4.56 ERA. A pair of right-handers could also be vying for the ball as senior Angel Alicea (Caguas, Puerto Rico) is 4-3 with a 4.83 ERA and pitching well as of late along with sophomore Vance Serrano (Las Vegas, Nev.) who chimes in a 4-6 overall with a 4.79 ERA and was also selected as the CAC Pitcher of the Week back on March 27 and April 10. Luke was also chosen as the CAC Pitcher of the Week on April 24.
2023 CAC Tournament Schedule
Saturday, May 6
Game 1: 1pm – No. 1 seed, #4 Georgia Gwinnett (40-5) vs. No. 4 seed, Iowa Wesleyan (16-18)
Game 2: 5pm – No. 2 seed, Fisher College (25-17) vs. No. 3 seed, Florida National (13-15)
Sunday, May 7
Game 3: 11am – Winner of Game 1 vs Winner of Game 2
Game 4: 3pm – Loser of Game 1 vs Loser of Game 2
Game 5: 7pm – Loser of Game 3 vs Winner of Game 4
Monday, May 8
Game 6: 12pm – Winner of Game 3 vs Winner of Game 5
Game 7: 3pm – If necessary game between the same two teams