Fresh-cut grass, warmer weather and dirt clouds can only mean one thing: baseball is back.

And for how wild the Colonial Athletic Association baseball season ended up getting last year, it’s worth the extra attention in 2022.

Colonial squads begin league play this week as two elite rivals aim for the top of the table, a blue-chip MLB prospect gets going in likely his final college season and a plethora of other storylines around the CAA will be settled. The latest on how it’ll all go, games, news and highlights from around the league will be available all year on FloBaseball.

Don’t know where to start? Here’s a trio of series and games over the next two weekends to get you on board.

NOTE: All first pitch times are listed in Eastern Time and are subject to change. Records and statistics are updated to Wednesday afternoon.

UNCW Vs. William & Mary

March 27 at 1 p.m.

The Seahawks are likely to be among the favorites to be the Colonial’s representative for the NCAA Tournament. After all, UNCW has only made the final of the CAA Baseball Championship a conference-record six times running, so it’s quite literally stepped up to the plate many times in recent history already. The pursuit for getting back to that point this season—and to its first NCAA Tournament since 2019—begins with its league-opening series against William & Mary this weekend. 

However, despite William & Mary being picked to finish in the bottom half of the CAA by the league’s coaches in preseason, don’t consider this series a done deal yet before a pitch is even thrown. The Tribe got the upper hand on the Seahawks in this exact scenario last year, winning each team’s first CAA series of the 2021 season 2-1 before UNCW got revenge in the latter of two series that year in a 2-1 triumph itself. Seahawk infielder Brooks Baldwin was an All-CAA First Team pick this past season and has early Player of the Year hype, batting .386 with four home runs and 17 RBI as he looks to improve more upon his 15th-round selection by the San Francisco Giants in last summer’s MLB Draft. But William & Mary’s new coach, Mike McRae, will look to make a statement in his league managerial debut after spending the past four seasons as an assistant at VCU. 

Longwood Vs. James Madison

March 29 at 5 p.m.

A one-off game in between the Dukes’ first two opening CAA series against Delaware and Elon, it may be a chance for JMU to show off its firepower at the plate. Coach Marlin Ikenberry’s team returned four of its top five batters from 2021, and it’s shown early on as the Dukes are currently tops among Colonial schools in home runs (26) and RBI (144). However, JMU also remains remarkably disciplined at the plate, simultaneously, recording 115 walks in just 20 games (an average of 5.75 per game) as it gets runners on-base (.406 OBP) and in position to score often. Battle-tested already against the likes of ranked non-conference foes in Florida State and Tennessee, the Dukes have seen teams that will be going further in the postseason than the 9-12 Lancers. 

Plus, if you be able to watch JMU redshirt sophomore outfielder Chase DeLauter before he’s on a major-league roster someday, do it. The No. 8 overall prospect in MLB.com’s 2022 Prospect Rankings, the West Virginian slashed .386/.500/.723 in his first full collegiate season last year, turning heads as one of the top players the CAA has seen in some time. Even with an injury that sidelined him for six games this year, DeLauter still has four home runs and a team-leading 22 RBI with a .440 average. As he gets back to full health and into the swing of things again, watch out.

William & Mary Vs. Northeastern

April 1, 2, 3 at 1 p.m., 12 p.m., 12 p.m.

The Huskies got to their second NCAA Tournament in four seasons last year by pulling off a pair of thrilling victories over UNCW while staring elimination in the face in last year’s CAA Baseball Championship. Though there’s certainly been an adjustment period from that stellar 36-12 team a year ago, the expectation—to get back to the postseason—remains the same. After opening the CAA slate first against College of Charleston, the Tribe will visit Friedman Diamond the next weekend already hardened after a series against another title hopeful, UNCW. 

W&M will need to find an answer for Northeastern’s stellar pitching, however, as CAA Preseason Co-Player of the Year Cam Schlitter (3.34 ERA) is always a threat. But Huskies sophomore right-hander Wyatt Scotti has stolen the show from Schlitter so far, barnstorming his way to a 5-0 start with a stellar 1.30 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 34⅔ innings. The Tribe do find ways to get runners on, currently only behind James Madison among Colonial squads in on-base percentage (.387) and walks (98), while senior infielder Cole Ragone (.349 average, .628 slugging) appears in early days to be amid a breakout season. But early wins are how Northeastern can best build a gap at the top of the CAA standings and keep it down the line, making this three-game stop against W&M especially important.