GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Golden Eagles get set to begin their spring season with a road trip down to Springdale, Arkansas to take on NCCAA opponent Ecclesia College for a four game set. CU comes into the spring with three conference series under their belt from the fall, going 3-5 in those eight games. Cornerstone will now start the main portion of their season under first year head coach Chuck Lowitzki, as they will play a double-header Friday starting at 2 p.m. EST and a double-header Saturday also starting at 2 p.m. All four games will be seven innings, and live stats will be available at cugoldeneagles.com.

About Ecclesia College
Ecclesia College is located in the heart of Springdale, Arkansas in the northwest corner of the state, near the Oklahoma/Arkansas border. Ecclesia College is a very small Bible school that has an enrollment of just 184 students on the 200-acre campus. The Royals baseball program participates in the National Christian College Athletics Association (NCCAA) that has just over 60 member schools nationwide.
 
First Series vs. the Royals
Cornerstone, in its fifth year of a baseball program, has never competed against the Royals of Ecclesia College. In fact, CU will be traveling to Arkansas for the first time in program history this weekend for their four game set with Ecclesia College.
 
Scouting Ecclesia College
The Royals are in their fifth year  in the programs history, and they are off to their best start to a season yet, going 8-3 so far this year. Ecclesia has never finished a season below .500, as last season they went 26-24, losing in the NCCAA Regional Tournament to Crowly's Ridge College.
 
Four Sets of Seven
CU will play four seven inning games at Ecclesia College, with a DH both Friday and Saturday.
 
Young Roster
Cornerstone comes into the 2016-17 season with a very young roster that only has three seniors in Jonny Abbadusky, Evan Wagner, and Seth Reigner. CU brings in six freshman to the varsity roster this season and two transfers as they get set to begin 2017.
 
New Staff
The 2016-17 season also brings along a brand new coaching staff. The new skipper of the Golden Eagles is former pitching coach Chuck Lowitzki, who has gone 3-5 so far in his first head coaching job of his career. Along with Lowitzki, CU returns former players Luke Heller, Tommy Enslen, Travis Gordon, and Seth Ritsema to the staff as assistant coaches.
 
Booming Bats
The bats of CU got off to a booming start in the Fall, scoring 10 or more runs in four of the eight conference games. Cornerstone has three players hitting above .300 through the first eight games, with a combined 23 RBI between them.
 
Walks
CU saw a lot of walks in the fall as the offense drew 47 of them, while the CU pitching staff walked opponents 46 times.
 
O'Neill Gets the Call
After playing in just three games as a freshman, sophomore Chris O'Neill has taken advantage of a major jump in playing time. O'Neill crushed the ball in the fall season hitting .304 with a team high 9 RBI, earning himself an everyday role in the Golden Eagle lineup.
 
Young Leads a Young Staff
Sophomore Collin Young pitched very well in the Fall, carrying a young pitching staff with a team best 1.50 ERA, allowing just five hits in 12.0 innings pitched. Young is expected to be the opening day starter for the Spring opener in Springdale, Arkansas.
 
Drawing Walks
The top of the lineup for the Golden Eagles has done an excellent job of seeing the pitch well, as Jarod Burton (11) Jonny Abbadusky (7), and Jon Stewart (6) drew a total of 24 walks in the Fall of the 2016-17 season.
 
Season Opening Walk-off
The 2016-17 campaign opened with one of the most exciting finishes in program history, as Jonny Abbadusky hit a walk-off single to win 9-8 over Lawrence Tech. Look for many more close finishes, as CU has already had four of their first eight games decided by just one run.
 
Baseball Contact: Jesse Campbell 
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