2023 Baseball Notebook (Week 1)

RING IN THE NEW YEAR: The College of Idaho baseball program gets the 2023 campaign underway in Arizona, taking on Arizona Christian on Thursday, Oklahoma Panhandle State and Benedictine on Friday, and Embry-Riddle on Saturday.
 
SUPER SLUGGERS: The Yotes return many of their top hitters from last season. Among the returnees is NAIA All-American Jonah Hultberg, who hit .426 last season and finished with one of the best individual seasons in program history. He ended the 2022 campaign in the top five in school history in eight offensive categories for a single season.
 
FRESH FACES: The Yotes welcome in 12 new faces to the clubhouse, including a mix of true freshman and transfers into the program. In total, the list includes 10 freshmen and two transfers.
 
CONSISTENT ARM: The top returning pitcher for the Yotes is Colby Durski, who appeared in a school record 34 games on the mound, 33 of which were out of the bullpen. Durski went 6-1 on the season with an ERA of 2.70 and 31 strikeouts.
 
EVERY DAY PLAYER: Ben Gaff is a 'true' utility player for the Yotes as he has seen action in the infield and on the mound. Gaff appeared in 56 games, 16 of which were pitching appearances. The sophomore hit for .301 last year with 47 hits while making five starts on the mound and striking out 45.
 
NON-CONFERENCE FOES: Last season, the Yotes went 16-17 in non-conference action, including a pair of  wins over this week's opponents, Embry-Riddle and Oklahoma Panhandle State. The Yotes took down Embry-Riddle by a score of 7-4, while defeating OPSU by a score of 10-8. Upcoming opponent Benedictine has faced the Yotes 10 times prior to this matchup, owning a 7-3 record against The College of Idaho, while owning a current three game winning streak.
 
FOLLOW ALONG: Links to watch and follow along with live stats can be found on the 2023 Baseball schedule tab on yoteathletics.com.