Will Hoogendyk, Campus Carrier sports editor

The Viking’s baseball campaign started this past weekend with a season-opening series against Emory University. Berry traveled to Emory for a Friday afternoon game and then hosted the Eagles for a Saturday doubleheader taking two out of three games to start the season. For Head Coach David Beasley, starting off the season outscoring Emory 56-33 was exactly what he was hoping for.

“What we’re trying to do in the first part of the season is to set a standard that we feel confident that we’re going to play every day when we come to the park,” Beasley said. “Berry has a brand of baseball. No ifs, ands or buts about it. Our brand is hard nose, solid defense, swinging the bat, and pitchers attacking the zone. It’s been our brand for the last 30 years.”

This brand of baseball has been fruitful under Beasley’s tenure. Since Beasley assumed the role of head coach in 1998, the program’s record is 768-501-2, good for a .603 winning percentage. For this season, Beasley wants to continue the team’s winning mindset while keeping his players motivated towards to make the postseason.

“Our goal is to take the next step [and] get to the NCAA post season,” Beasley said. “We’ve won the conference two out of the last five years so we know we can win the conference, but for us it’s about playing well at the end of the year and not being worn out.”

Baseball is notorious for having long seasons at any level, and for the Vikings, this could mean playing upwards of 40 games. While in-conference play won’t start until mid-March, the Vikings have an especially tough schedule this season to strengthen their case for an NCAA tournament bid. For junior Cole Porter and his teammates, their focus is to perform consistently no matter who their opponent is.

“The other day we had a meeting, and we’re focusing on a mindset that we’re the team to beat,” Porter said. “We’re not going in there to try to beat this other team. We are the team that everybody’s going to try to beat. This team’s trying to get a reputation off of beating us.”

Porter is one of 34 players returning from last year’s roster and a key part of the Viking’s bullpen for this season. He pitched three and two-thirds of relief in the Emory series and earned the win in Saturday’s 28-13 victory over the Eagles. Coach Beasley lauded the experience that players like Porter bring to the table for younger guys on the team.

“The biggest thing that somebody that’s older brings is just the trials and the tribulations of the season,” Beasley said. “My guys that have been here for years can show you what to expect.”

Among the returning players for the 2025 season are seniors Joey Garcia and Alex Knapp as well as graduate students Nick Brunswick and Andrew Pendleton. Combined, they bring 14 seasons of wisdom and knowledge to their teammates. Bringing back fifth year players is uncommon but has proved successful in recent years. Last season, Charles Stephenson won SAA Pitcher of the Year and in 2022, Spence Johns won SAA Player of the Year. Both Vikings were in their fifth season of Berry baseball when they won these accolades. 

For Coach Beasley, his expectations are that his players will maintain the same level of dedication and skill in all facets of their life. This includes being on the diamond and in the classroom.

“We had the highest GPA we’ve ever had in my 30 years and I’m super proud of them,” Beasley said. “I have six guys with a 4.0 [and] our team GPA was a was over a 3.4. I expect our success to be on the ballfield too.”

Expectations are high among players and fans for the Vikings after a runner-up conference finish in 2024.

“We’re not worried about winning the conference,” Porter said. “We expect to finish first or second, no doubt. It’s what are we going to do past that. Are we going to take that next step to go a postseason? [Or] to a World Series? That’s what we’re really focusing on.”

Part of the process of determining who will get selected to play in the NCAA tournament is a school’s strength of schedule. Berry is slated to face No. 20 Adrian College on Friday with other tough matchups including Marietta, LaGrange, Rhodes and Centre this season. Because Berry has shown they have the skill to compete with these teams, Porter explained what they are focusing on to push themselves to the next level.

“I think what we’re changing this year is more of our mindset,” Porter said. “We want to make a deep postseason run and part of being able to do that is having to play a tough schedule so that you get more points in the ranking system.”

This weekend, the Vikings head to LaGrange, GA where they will play in the D3 South Region Invitational. Their all-time record versus Adrian College is 3-3. This Friday will be the first time these two teams have met since March 4, 2022 when the Vikings won 13-7 at home.