The Lee University baseball team will open the 2024 season on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Larry Carpenter Stadium. It will mark the beginning of a three-game series against an old Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) and NAIA opponent in visiting Southern Wesleyan University (Central, S.C.).
“It has been a tough go early in the spring in regard to prep work on the field,” said head coach Mark Brew as he spoke about getting his field and team ready for the opener. “We have had to brave some tough days to get some meaningful work in.
Our guys have managed it well and I expect us to be ready to go.”
It will be the 31st meeting between the Flames and Warriors. Lee holds a 24-6 advantage in the series. While the Flames are members of the Gulf South Conference, the Warriors joined Conference Carolinas after moving from the NAIA. Lee is picked to finish third in the GSC final standings and Southern Wesleyan ninth. Conference Carolinas is represented by North Greenville, a team that won the DII World Series in 2022.
“We have a history with SWU as a NAIA school, but we have not played each other in a long time,” noted Brew. “I expect they will be well coached and prepared to go. It will be a good challenge for us to start the season.”
The Flames have announced their starting pitchers for the series. Veteran junior right-hander Jack Nedrow will work first. Last season he appeared in 14 games and made 13 starts. Keegan Gagliardo will pitch in Saturday’s first game of the doubleheader at 1 p.m. Last year the red-shirt junior lefty worked in 11 games and had two starts. Fans will get their first look at Nelson Smith in the final game on Saturday. At 6-foot-7, 215, the red-shirt junior has looked good in the early practice.
After this weekend, Lee will have five more scheduled game-dates remaining before traveling to Rome, Ga. to open the GSC regular season against rival Shorter University. Does that short timeline trouble Coach Brew? “You always want more opportunity before hitting the conference slate, but it’s the exact same time on all conference teams,” he explained. “We will definitely look to our experienced players to share how to prepare in short windows and to help prepare the team (younger players) for such a short window. However, Shorter is three weeks away and we need to stay focused on the opportunity at hand this weekend.”