SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College baseball team has won the Liberty League East two years in a row and is the favorite again according to the Preseason Coaches Poll.
 
The 2023 squad finished 24-16 and 13-5 in the Liberty League. After sweeping Clarkson in the Liberty League Crossover Series (23-1, 6-5), Skidmore hosted the Liberty League Tournament for the first time since 2005. Despite dropping both tournament games, the Thoroughbreds won their most games in a season dating back to 2012 (30).
 
After rain canceled Saturday's scheduled opener at Baruch, Skidmore will open its 2024 season on Sunday, March 3 with a doubleheader against St. Joseph's University Brooklyn in Staten Island. Skidmore has a game scheduled for next week at Oneonta, and then will play nine games in seven days in Fort Myers, Florida. The Thoroughbreds will play their final opening day at the Castle Diamond against Bard on Friday, March 22.
 
Skidmore will feature a refreshed lineup in 2024. Out of the seven players who hit above .300 in 2023, five of them have graduated, including two-time Liberty League Player of the Year and All-American Jackson Hornung, who signed a professional contract with the Toronto Blue Jays after being drafted by the team earlier in the summer. Despite the losses on the offensive side, Skidmore returns All-Liberty League Second Team honoree Trey Bourque and an Honorable Mention selection in Zachary Leiderman.
 
Bourque hit .325 last year as a sophomore with a team high 12 doubles, five homers, and 39 RBI. Leiderman hit .344 and hit three homers with 23 RBI in 90 at-bats.
 
The Thoroughbreds will return a bulk of their innings on the bump. Over 90 percent (293.2-of-325) of them to be exact. Ameer Hasan was an All-Liberty League Second Team pitcher for the Thoroughbreds last year as a junior. He went 6-3 on the bump with a 3.59 earned-run average.  
   
Ron Plourde and staff have been named the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year two years in a row. He has now won the award four times. He weighed in ahead of the team's start: "We look forward to opening up this weekend and are excited about this team!
 
"Despite significant loses to graduation, this team is ready to take another step forward as we compete for a Liberty League Championship. We have a deep team, especially on the pitching side which should serve us well with 13 games in a span of two weeks to begin the season."
 
The Skidmore roster features 12 fresh faces on it to go along with 20 returners including six seniors. The 2024 season will be the final one played on the David Alexander Castle Diamond after the College announced plans to build a new facility in the surrounding area.