Div. III takes center stage as the 2022 Snowbird Baseball Classic rolls on. 

Beginning on March 5, a group that includes No. 2-ranked Marietta arrives in Sarasota County for competition spanning into the following week. 

Marietta brings a trio of preseason All-American nominees to lead it in an eight-game odyssey, lasting until March 12: outfielder Turner Hill, relief pitcher Sam Mathews and first baseman Drew Holderbach. 

The field also includes Baldwin Wallace University and 2nd Team preseason All-American selection Alex Ludwick. 

Swarthmore Vs. Heidelberg

Saturday, March 5 at 11 a.m. ET 

The week’s festivities open with Swarthmore looking to snap an early, three-game losing skid. The Garnet dropped a Feb. 27 doubleheader to Stevens and fell at No. 11-ranked Rowan on Tuesday, 10-4. 

Luke Mutz and Michael Sepe are off to hot starts for Swarthmore, batting .476 and .467 with OPS of 1.256 and 1.319 through Swarthmore’s first five games. On the opposite end, Heidelberg’s Eric DeVore and Keaton Mark come into the Snowbird Classic with averages of .625 and .429 and OPS of 1.500 and 1.643, albeit in just two games. 

Baldwin Wallace Vs. Misericordia

Saturday, March 5 at 11:30 a.m. 

Baldwin Wallace comes into the Snowbird Classic having received votes in the most recent D3Baseball.com poll. The Yellow Jackets feature preseason All-American Ludwick, who last season batted .434 with eight home runs and 43 RBI, and stole 10 bases. 

Pitchers Drew Wilson, Gordon Seger and Brendon Hink also return after producing some of the most effective work on the mound of any Yellow Jacket pitchers in 2021. 

Misericordia opened its 2022 hanging 15 runs on a Shenandoah team currently ranked No. 18 in the D3Baseball.com poll. Jason Sanfilippo and Garret McIlhenney are pacing the Cougars at the plate with early-season averages of .583 and .533. 

Lebanon Valley Vs. Marietta

Sunday, March 6 at 11 a.m. ET 

Second-ranked Marietta opens its Snowbird schedule against a Lebanon Valley bunch embarking on its own six-day, eight-game Spring Break. 

After opening the season with a doubleheader against Shenandoah, LVC will have played its first three games of the 2022 season against ranked competition. It’s a challenging start, to be sure, but a quality measuring stick for the Flying Dutchmen before getting into conference play. 

Last season, LVC went 16-6 in the Middle Atlantic and advanced to the MAC Commonwealth Championship. Outfielder Mike Bulgia, the leading batter from last season’s Dutchmen squad, is back in 2022. 

Marietta Vs. Swarthmore (DH)

Monday, March 7 at 10 a.m. & 1 p.m. 

A strong showing at the Snowbird Classic could be the launching pad to big things for 

Marietta. The Pioneers boast a combination of pitching and hitting capable of contending for an NCAA championship. 

Turner Hill is coming off a 2021 season in which he hit a whopping .449. Once on base, Hill is one of the most dangerous players in all of college baseball, having made 30 steals a season ago. 

Drew Holderbach hit .371 in 2021 and drove in a team-high 55 RBI, and Trent Castle hit .316 with 34 RBI. 

On the mound, preseason All-American Sam Mathews was nearly impossible to score on with a 1.47 ERA, .79 WHIP and opponent batting average of .195. He made eight saves and struck out 84. Gino Sabatine, the most active of the starters with 14 starts last year. 

He amassed a 9-1 record, struck out 57 and produced a WHIP of 1.20. He struggled in the 2022 opener, but will have an opportunity to get back on track in Florida, while Trent Valentine and Brett Carson seek to score their respective second wins of the young campaign. 

Ohio Wesleyan Vs. Baldwin Wallace

Monday, March 7 at 11 a.m. ET 

The Battling Bishops of Ohio Wesleyan jump into a week of competition starting Monday against Baldwin Wallace. OWU looks to rebound from an 8-23 finish a season ago. 

The Bishops opened 2022 with a potential building block win, and their roster’s not lacking for experience. Outfielder Davis Graham hit .368 in 2021, drove in a team-high 19 runs and blasted a pair of home runs.