The Saint John Alpines will kick off their 2023 senior baseball season on Victoria Day.

The defending provincial champions will host the Fredericton Royals for an afternoon game.

Alpines president Terre Hunter said they are feeling very optimistic heading into the season.

“We have pretty much everybody coming back from the championship team of last year and we’re excited to be adding Andrew Case this year,” Hunter said in an interview.

Case, who was born in Saint John, was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays as an undrafted free agent in 2013.

He also played for Team Canada at the 2017 World Baseball Classic and 2019 Pan American Games Qualifier.

While the Alpines are keen to get going, Hunter said he knows they will be pushed by the other teams.

“Everybody wants to beat the champs,” he said. “It won’t be easy, but we’re looking forward to getting going.”

Hunter said the fans came out in “pretty good numbers” last year and the team picked up new fans regularly, particularly later in the season and in the playoffs.

“People were impressed with the calibre of play and came back to see more,” he said. “The numbers are certainly trending in the right direction and we hope that we pick up where we left off last year.”

Monday’s game against Fredericton should be a good one for fans — the two teams squared off in the New Brunswick Senior Baseball League championship last season.

The Alpines took the best-of-seven series in five games, winning their first provincial championship in 20 years.

Game time at Memorial Field in west Saint John is at 2 p.m. Hunter said ticket prices remain unchanged at $7 for adults and free for kids.

“Even though we’ve had some cost increases, we’ve decided to hold the prices and encourage people to come.”