The College of Staten Island Baseball team is getting their 2020 season officially underway today, as they will face off against Hilbert College for the first time in their history, playing a doubleheader against the Hawks in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  The doubleheader is part of a six-game, three-day swing through Myrtle Beach to start the campaign.

CSI vs. HILBERT COLLEGE
Matchup: College of Staten Island (0-0) vs. Hilbert College (0-0)
Where: Cal Ripken Experience - Myrtle Beach, SC
Live Stats (BEGINNING IN GAME 2) : https://csidolphins.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Note: Live Stats may be delayed up to 1/2 hour to start the day.
All-Time Series:  First Meeting
Players to Watch (CSI): The Dolphins are returning three seniors to this year's team, including batting champion Jett Nouvertne, who batted .375.  Junior Andrew Nathan batted.352 coming off a transfer season, while Domenick Castiglione in his freshman campaign last year batted a crisp .336, leading the team with 10 doubles.  Sophomore hurler John Esposito finished 4-4 last season with a team-best 1.99 ERA.  Senior Salvatore Trancucci IV, also came by way of transfer last year and pitched to a 3-1 record with a 3.79 ERA, expect him to get the ball more this season, along with sophomore Kevin Ryan, who sported a 1-3 mark with a 4.58 ERA in his first offering. 
Players to Watch (HC): Look for Griffith DeMayo and pitcher Zachary Crane to be a big part of the Hawks' plans as they start the 2020 season.  DeMayo finished Top 10 in the AMCC in batting average (.372), doubles (11) and stolen bases (11), while striking out just four times in 132 plate appearance to finish 16th in all of NCAA DIII in Toughest to Strikeout.  Crane heads into his junior campaign knocking on the doorstep of multiple program records after a breakout sophomore campaign a season ago in which he finished Top 10 in the conference in games started (9) and complete games (5). His five complete games landed him 17th in all of NCAA DIII in Complete Games in 2019.Hilbert will head into the 2020 season with five seniors including P Henry Bowers, Austin O'Shei, Ian Moran, Ryan Perrin and Noah Welch.   
News & Notes: Today marks the first-ever meetings between the two sides in their history.  Hilbert College is an NCAA Division III institution that plays out of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.  They sported an 8-26 mark in a rebuilding campaign with a 4-14 conference mark.  CSI finished 16-22 a year ago, their first sub-.500 season since 2009.  The team is returning 12 players from a year ago while bringing in 13 new faces to their provisional Division II side.  The Dolphins are playing 15 games against NCAA Division II opponents this season, the first against Benedict College tomorrow at 1:00 PM.  That game will follow a 10:30 AM CSI matchup with CUNYAC-rival John Jay College.  CSI will wrap up their Myrtle Beach swing against Division II Erskine College on Monday with a 3PM doubleheader.