WALTHAM, Mass. – For the first time in the program's 55-year history and close to 1900 games, someone other than Bob DeFelice will be at the helm when the 2023 Bentley University baseball season gets underway this weekend.

Mike Hill, a former Bentley All-America and longtime assistant coach, will make his head coaching debut when the Falcons face Assumption University in a four-game non-conference series in Florida. Friday's 2 pm game will be at Northeast Regional Park in Davenport and the rest of the series (Saturday doubleheader, Sunday single game) will be played at Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs.

Seven of the eight Falcons who started at least 25 games are back this season, including team captains Eddy Beauregard (Paxton/Wachusett Reg. HS), Kyle Halloran (Hopkinton/Hopkinton HS), Liam Sears (Springfield/Pope Francis HS) and Tim Zupkus (Middlebury, Conn./Holy Cross HS).

All four hit at least .287 last season and were the team's top run scorers. Sears, a grad student who'll likely transition from the outfield to DH this season, led the Falcons with a .313 average and had 31 RBI. A senior right fielder, Zupkus had a .293 average, 30 runs and 36 RBI. Beauregard, a senior who had a team-best 39 RBI last spring, will play first when he's not pitching. Halloran, who like Zupkus was errorless in the outfield in 2022, has career totals that include 106 hits, 96 runs and 37 stolen bases.

Other returning everyday players for the Falcons include junior second baseman Jackson Walonis (Walpole/Walpole HS), senior third baseman Cory Bright (Melrose/Bishop Fenwick HS), senior shortstop Steve Rizzuto (Belmont/Belmont HS), senior catcher Brian Lindsay (New Durham, N.H./Kingswood Reg. HS) and junior infielder Tyler Gonzalez (Windham, N.H./Lawrence Academy).

Rizzuto was a third-team All-Conference honoree in 2021, Bright and Walonis both batted at least .290 last year, Lindsey had a .333 average in 66 at bats last spring and Gonzalez made 21 starts last year in his first Bentley season.

Potential starting pitchers for Bentley include a quartet of right-handers: Beauregard and grad students David Hunter III (Middleton/Masconomet Reg. HS), Sean Mahan (Woburn/Matignon HS) and Brandon Ostiguy (East Greenbush, N.Y./Columbia HS). Beauregard was 4-0 for Stonehill in 2021, Hunter III had two wins in relief for Saint Anselm last year, Mahan was 3-2 for Bentley and Ostiguy earned All-Northeast-10 honors as a relief pitcher for Bentley in 2021.

Newcomers who'll be in the mix for playing time include Bryant transfer Stan DeMartinis III (Boca Raton, Fla./American Heritage HS), a middle infielder/outfielder whose father played for Bentley from 1994-96, and freshman catcher Tommy Goonan (Boston, Mass./Catholic Memorial HS).

Bentley is scheduled to make its northern debut a week from Saturday, March 4, against St. Michael's College.