Richard Hodnett doesn't know what to expect. Neither do his players.

Regardless of that, Hodnett, the head baseball coach at Oakwood University, will lead the Ambassadors against Stillman College today in the season opener for both teams at John Hunt Park. The doubleheader is slated to start at 1:05 p.m.

It will be Oakwood's first baseball game since 2010.

"We're excited," Hodnett said. "We're eager to see what kind of team we have. We'll know more about ourselves after today."

When Oakwood moved up to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) last summer and joined the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, part of the deal was to add baseball and softball.

And while it has been somewhat of a struggle to put a team together, Hodnett says it has been quite a journey.

"We recruited some kids, but we also found some kids that were already on campus," he said. "The biggest thing we need is pitching. You can never have enough pitchers."

Hodnett will send Jorge Hernandez to the hill today to start the opener.

A 6-foot-4, 192-pound freshman from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Hernandez had attracted some attention from major league scouts, Hodnett said.

"He showed up in January and we're excited about him," he said. "He's going to be the ace of our staff."

Catcher Dylan Grigorius will be Hernandez's battery mate.

The infield will consist of first baseman Tre Bond, second baseman Erick Perez, shortstop Jeremy Matos and third baseman Jayden Rolling.

"Matos is one of our best players," Hodnett said. "He was here in school and we had open tryouts and after watching him, it was kind of a slam dunk."

Matos, Hodnett said, could also see some time on the mound.

DiMarcos Pereira is slated to start in left field, Jordan Jennings in center field and Obed Herrera in right field.

Six of the eight GCAC members will field baseball teams this season. As a result, baseball was reinstated as a championship sport this season.

Rust College, Tougaloo College and Wiley College all had teams. Dillard University, Oakwood and Philander Smith College are fielding new teams this season.

Fisk University and Southern University at New Orleans don't field baseball teams.