The Raven Baseball team opens up their 2020 season with a road trip to Conway, Ark., against Central Baptist College before returning home for the start of their home schedule on Feb. 8.

Benedictine went 26-12 in 2019 under head coach Eric Peterson and returns a strong core of players from last season as they return seven of their top 10 hitters from last year to go along with a solid group on the mound.

Daryl Myers returns as the reigning Heart Player of the Year. Myers hit .381 with 10 home runs and 51 RBIs last season over 34 games.

Myers is joined in the heart of the lineup by Michael Slaten and Jordan Williams. Slaten led the Ravens with 13 home runs in 27 games while Williams hit .389 in 31 games last season.

Returning to the lineup this season to join Myers, Slaten and Williams are Jacob Pavlyak, Austin Watamaniuk, Danny Favazza and Drew Piontek.

As a team, the Ravens hit .329 with 41 home runs and 285 RBIs. Pavlyak and Watamaniuk led the team in doubles with 15 and 14 respectively. Favazza had .432 on-base percentage striking out just 17 times over 31 games. Piontek finished with a .407 slugging percentage and a .424 on-base percentage over 35 games.

Five pitchers return for the Ravens with 10 or more appearances in 2019.

Jacob Slaten appeared in 16 games with six saves and a 4.62 ERA over 37 innings with 23 strikeouts. Michael Kruse returns as the top starter for the Ravens. He appeared in 14 games in 2019, starting in 13 of them and finished with a 4.81 ERA over 67.1 innings. He led the pitching staff with 47 strikeouts and held opponents to a .286 batting average.

The Ravens are scheduled to play at home on Laughlin Field at Olsen Stadium at 10 a.m. on Feb. 8 as they host a three-game set against Southwestern College and Doane University.