FERRUM, Va. -- The Bates baseball team enters the 2025 season with strong pitching depth and a talented group of hitters, plus a much-improved playing surface at their home ballpark, Leahey Field. Bates opens their campaign Friday at 1 p.m. in Virginia when the Bobcats take on Ferrum College in the first game of a three-game series.

"We lost a couple starting pitchers but we definitely have a very deep pitching staff," head coach Jon Martin said. "We're talented. I like what we've done so far. We've increased our strike-throwing percentage from the first practice on, so we're throwing a lot of strikes and challenging hitters, which is definitely what we want to do."

Junior RHP Diego Sarabia (Mableton, Ga.) returns to the rotation after holding opponents to a .238 batting average in 38 innings pitched as a sophomore, his first season of college baseball. He showed his potential against No. 2 nationally ranked Endicott, tossing five and a third innings and allowing just a pair of unearned runs on two hits.

"Diego's upside is limitless," Martin said. "I saw that from him when I first started recruiting him out of high school. He throws a good, hard slider, good off speed. The key for him is just staying in the strike zone and having a competitive edge, and as long as he does that, his stuff will play."

Martin is also expecting big things from junior pitchers John Tully (Framingham, Mass.) and Max Dio (Wellfleet, Mass.), hard-throwing right-handers who have shown potential the past couple seasons. Tully impressed in a pair of summer collegiate leagues this year while Dio held opponents to a .261 batting average last season. 

Familiar names to Bates fans returning to the pitching staff include seniors Ian McAslan (Baltimore, Md.), Christopher McGrail (Dedham, Mass.), Micah Sheats (Niwot, Colo.), and Matthew Shrake (Chicago, Ill.). McAslan had the lowest ERA last season of any returning Bobcat pitcher, and should get a chance to start this year.

"We have a lot of veteran pitchers who know what we're out to accomplish," Martin said. "They're familiar with the challenges we have ahead of us and all of them have really done a great job in leading this staff so far this season."

The Bobcats named seniors Brandon Biggane (Rensselaer, N.Y.) and Brennan Kelley (Charlotte, N.C.) team captains this year. Biggane is a power-hitting outfielder/catcher who earned second team All-State honors a year ago while posting a .937 OPS (On-Base + Slugging Percentage). Kelley is a switch-hitting infielder who provides Bates with both speed and versatility.

"They are very down to earth guys, and they both love baseball," Martin said. "They love this program, they love Bates, and they represent Bates well. It was pretty obvious that these two guys were at the forefront of who we wanted to keep us going in the right direction this year."

Bates is not short on players who can hit the ball. Sophomore first baseman Henry Prince (McLean, Va.) recorded a team-best .952 OPS as a rookie and senior infielder Ben Genser (Newton, Mass.) led the team in batting average during a breakout junior season that saw him hit .358 and finish second on the team to Biggane in RBIs with 24. 

"Genser is a guy that doesn't really stress about much, and gets into the box and sees the ball and hits the ball," Martin said. "That's kind of his thing. He is also really tough to strike out. So he's got a good two-strike approach and he's all about putting the bat on the ball and putting the ball in play. And for a little guy, he's got some pop in his bat, he can drive it."

Junior Gibby Sullivan (Yarmouth, Maine) gives the coaching staff tremendous flexibility with his ability to play almost any position, and the Bates outfield features a ton of upside with the likes of junior Jack Margiloff (Rye, N.Y.) and sophomore Keagan Ryan (Salem, N.H.) providing a lot of speed, having combined for 28 stolen bases in 31 attempts last year.

"When those guys get on base, they can wreak havoc," Martin said. "When they get on, we hopefully get them from first to second to third in two or three pitches."

While Bates has some dangerous baserunners, the Bobcats will be hard to run on for other teams, as junior catcher Liam Yardley (Keene, N.H.) had a tremendous season behind the dish in 2024, throwing out 11-23 runners trying to steal.

Per usual, Bates is starting the season on the road, but their home opener is set for Saturday, March 8th at noon against Plymouth State. That would be the earliest Bates has played a home baseball game this century, and it's thanks to the field turf installed on the Leahey Field infield over the off-season.

"The turf is a game changer," Martin said. "We can get the field ready quickly after a rainstorm or remove the snow off of it quickly and get out there as long as the temperatures hold up. We're excited, we're appreciative of it, and we can't wait to get out there for a game."