2024 W&L Baseball Season Preview

The Generals picked to finish 5th in ODAC Preseason Poll

2/7/2024 2:00:00 PM

LEXINGTON, Va. – The Washington and Lee University baseball team was picked to finish fifth in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Preseason Poll, the conference office announced Wednesday afternoon.

Shenandoah University received nine of the 12 first place votes to stand atop the preseason coaches' poll. Defending National Champion, the University of Lynchburg, was slotted in second with 110 points while snagging three first place votes. Randolph-Macon College (103) sits seven points behind Lynchburg in third while the Maroons of Roanoke College (82) edged the Generals for the fourth slot.

The Generals concluded the 2023 season with an 18-17 overall record with an 11-11 mark in league play. The Generals plan to bounce back from an opening series exit to Roanoke in the 2023 ODAC Tournament.

2024 ODAC Baseball Preseason Poll

Shenandoah University (9) - 119 pts.
University of Lynchburg (3) - 110 pts.
Randolph-Macon College - 103 pts.
Roanoke College - 82 pts.
Washington and Lee University - 81 pts.
Hampden-Sydney College - 71 pts.
Bridgewater College - 68 pts.
Guilford College - 51 pts.
Ferrum College - 34 pts.
Virginia Wesleyan University - 31 pts.
Eastern Mennonite University - 25 pts.
Averett University - 17 pts.

With a large part of the roster returning from 2023 the boys are eager to get the 2024 season underway. Watching them grow together this fall as friends and teammates only raised our staff’s level of excitement for what the spring could bring. Led by an experienced group on the mound we will look to make our mark with pitching and defense. Offensively, we are blessed with great depth, and you will see the boys feeding off the pitching as it pushes the pace and plays fast and free.

The ODAC once again has been recognized preseason as one of the top conferences in the country and our out of conference schedule, highlighted by the D3 Showcase in Kannapolis, is a great compliment to our ODAC slate.

Head Coach Ted White (Seventh Season)

2024 Schedule Overview

The Blue and White will play a 35-game regular season schedule this season, featuring 19 games at Cap'n Dick Smith field while playing 13 games on the road with three neutral site games at the D3 Showcase in Kannapolis, N.C. from February 23-25.

The Generals will host Centenary University (N.J.) in the opening series from Feb. 16-18. This will be the first meeting between both squads and the Generals and Cyclones will kick off the 2024 season on Feb. 16 at 4 p.m. at Cap'n Dick Smith Field. Following the three-game series, the Blue and White will welcome Southern Virginia on Feb. 20 before heading to North Carolina for the D3 Showcase. W&L will take on Berry College (Ga.) (Feb. 23), the University on Rochester (Feb. 24) and Susquehanna University (Feb. 25) in the second weekend of action.

The Blue and White will make another trip to North Carolina on Feb. 27 as they travel to Greensboro College for a weekday game against the Pride before taking on Hampden-Sydney in their first conference double header on Mar. 2. Following a short road-trip, the Generals will return for an eight-game homestead, with five of the eight games coming against ODAC opponents. They will kick off the homestead with a midweek game against Mary Baldwin on Wednesday, Mar. 6 before welcoming the Cougars of Averett University for a conference doubleheader on Saturday, Mar. 9. W&L will play back-to-back days as they host Hamilton College on Mar. 12 before welcoming the seventh-ranked Hornets of Shenandoah University the following day. Just a few days later, the Generals will take on Randolph-Macon in a doubleheader on Mar. 16 before taking on SVU for the second time on Mar. 19.

W&L will hit the road once again on Mar. 20 as they travel to Harrisonburg for a midweek game against Eastern Mennonite University before heading to sixth-ranked and defending national champions, the University of Lynchburg, on Mar. 23 for a doubleheader. The Generals head back to Lexington for back-to-back games against Bridgewater (Mar. 26) and Mary Baldwin (Mar. 27) before heading down to Salem for a doubleheader at Roanoke on Mar. 30.

The Generals travel up I-81 to Winchester, Va. for their second game against Shenandoah on Apr. 3 before returning home for their final homestead of the season. The five-games at home will feature a doubleheader against Guilford on Apr. 6 before taking on EMU for the final time during the regular season on Apr. 9. Following a week-long hiatus, the Generals will honor their eight senior members before taking on Ferrum in a doubleheader on Apr. 20.

The Blue and White will head on the road for the final three games of the season as they take a Thursday afternoon trip to Newport News on Apr. 25 to take on 20th-ranked Christopher Newport before heading to Virginia Beach on Apr. 27 to take on Virginia Wesleyan in the final doubleheader of the season.

The opening series of the ODAC Tournament is slated for May 3rd through the 5th, the three-game series will take place at each of the top-four seeds. The next weekend, the four advancing teams will meet in Tysons, Va., at Capital One Park for a double-elimination tournament.

You can view the entire 2024 schedule HERE.

Junior Evan Blair is the Generals' top returning starting pitcher this season. Blair, a Vienna, Va. native, boasted a 2.77 earned run average (ERA) in 48.2 innings with a 3-1 record last spring. The right-hander sat down 51 batters during his sophomore campaign, keeping opposing offenses under wraps with a .161 batting average.

In his first career start with the Blue and White, Blair tossed a complete game in a 4-1 win over Hampden-Sydney on April 15 to help the Generals split the doubleheader. After giving up a 1st inning run, Blair was lights out for the next eight innings, only allowing three more hits and striking out three Tigers.

Off the field, Blair has earned three W&L Scholar Athlete citations while adding one Academic All-ODAC honor. He is a member of the Generals Leadership Academy and serves as the President of the Generals Athlete Mental Awareness Club. He also serves as a Staff Writer on W&L's The Spectator and spent the summer of 2023 as a Sports Journalism intern for the Potomac League.

Junior Campbell Charneco looks to build off his successful sophomore campaign for the Generals this season. Charneco, a Clifton, Va. native, has seen time as a catcher, designated hitter as well as a relief pitcher.

Charneco led the Generals with a .389 batting average with a 1.055 OPS in 33 of the Generals' 34 games in 2023. He recorded 44 hits, ten doubles, two triples and two home runs while driving in a team-high 32 runs across in his 113 at-bats. Charneco made three appearances on the mound last season in relief, he earned a 2-1 record in 6.2 innings pitched while striking out four batters. In his career, Charneco holds a .380 batting average in 192 at-bats with 73 hits, 19 doubles, two triples and five home runs.

Last season, Charneco was selected to the All-ODAC Third team while earning D3baseball.com honors as he was selected to the All-Region Third Team.

Ashwin Suresh is a relief pitcher for the Generals this season as he heads into his senior season for the Blue and White. Suresh, a Glen Allen, Va. native, saw action in nine games in relief last season. In 8.2 innings pitched, Suresh had a 4.15 ERA while striking out five batters.

Off the field, Suresh is a five-time W&L Scholar Athlete and was selected to the Academic All-ODAC team and President's List in 2021 and 2022. Suresh volunteers as an ESL Tutor and spent the summer of 2023 as an Investment banking analyst at Jefferies.

Shortstop Ethan Zulueta looks to build off his junior season to help the Generals make another trip back to the ODAC Tournament. Zulueta appeared and started in 32 games for the Blue and White, hitting .233 with 27 hits and six doubles while driving in 20 runners in 116 at-bats. Zulueta drove in a career-high three runs in an 8-3 win over Randolph-Macon on Mar. 18.

Zulueta boasts a career .301 batting average with 69 hits, 14 doubles, one triple and home run in 229 at-bats. In his sophomore campaign, he hit .392 with 40 hits, eight doubles, one triple and a home run while driving in 21 batters.

Key Returners

The Blue and White's 36-man roster features a talented group of first-year and returning players. Coach White has brought in eight first-years from five different states including two student-athletes from the Commonwealth of Virginia. Evan Blair, John Benner and Campbell Charneco were All-ODAC selections during the 2023 season.

Drew Larsen had a career-high year in his junior season, boasting a .327 batting average and a .445 slugging percentage. Larsen recorded 36 hits, 11 doubles and one triple while driving in 18 runs in 110 at-bats. Jacob Jackson ranked third on the team with a .336 batting average during his junior season. In 125 at-bats, Jackson recorded a career-high 42 hits with one double, two triples and a team-high five home runs while driving in 23 runs. Outfielder Paul Ramseur had an impressive rookie campaign for the Generals, hitting .274 in 27 games in 2022. Ramseur recorded 26 hits, three doubles, one triple and two home runs while driving in 20 runs in 95 at-bats.

John Benner is a key piece to the Generals starting rotation this season. In his sophomore campaign, Benner recorded a 6-5 record in his 11 starts with a 3.96 ERA and 1.47 WHIP. He led the team with 61.1 innings pitched and struck out 42 batters and was named to the All-ODAC Third Team. Benner holds a 12-6 record in his 21 career starts while striking out 97 batters in 115 innings.

Andrew Flood is a key piece for the Generals out of the bullpen. In his sophomore campaign, Flood saw 25.1 innings of action where he struck out 15 batters and posted a 3.20 ERA in 11 appearances in relief.