It is hard to believe, but the beginning of the college baseball season in Oklahoma starts today with Panhandle State opening play in the 5th Annual Coach Calderone Invitational in Phoenix, AZ.
The Aggies will play 4 games in 3 days against NAIA/NCCAA competition starting with a game vs SAGU American Indian College this evening. OPSU follows that up with a game against event host, Arizona Christian University on Friday night, then 2 games on Saturday versus Benedictine University Mesa and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University respectively on Saturday.
Let’s take a look at the Aggies opponents.
SAGU American Indian College
SAGU AIC plays in the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletics Association). Not much can be found on how they did in 2023 (or earlier for that matter), but they did not play in an NCCAA regional.
Arizona Christian University
The Firestorm are the hosts of the Coach Calderone Invitational. They play in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) where they finished 5th out of 9 teams in the regular season in 2023. ACU finished 3rd in the conference tournament. They went 29-24 (11-13, GSAC) in 2023. The Firestorm received votes in the NAIA 2024 preseason poll.
Benedictine University Mesa
The Redhawks are one of the best programs currently in NAIA. They won the California Pacific Conference (CAL PAC) in 2023 and lost in the title game of the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament. Benedictine Mesa finished 2023 with a 44-14 overall record and 21-3 in the CAL PAC and finished ranked #13 in the final national poll. They are ranked #19 in the 2024 NAIA preseason poll.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Embry-Riddle (AZ) also plays in the CAL PAC. In 2023, they had an overall record of 19-25, but they were 13-10 in conference finishing 4th. The Eagles went 0-2 in the conference tournament, however.
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Sooner State Baseball Report 
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