ITHACA, N.Y. — Returning nearly 89 percent of its offense from last year's team, Dan Pepicelli, the Ted Thoren Head Coach of Cornell Baseball, is excited about bringing back many veteran players to this year's Big Red squad.

"We bring back a veteran offense," stated Pepicelli, who is entering his eighth season as the Big Red's head coach. "Veteran in term of academic years, but missing two years from COVID, last year was their first full year of college baseball. We bring back a bunch of seniors and juniors that have college experience from last year and I'm excited about that."
 
Some of the players that will look to be focal points of Cornell's offense this year include senior outfielder Sam Kaplan, sophomore infielder Max Jensen, and junior catcher Nathan Waugh — the trio of Big Red batters who logged .300 averages last season.

Kaplan and Jensen are both coming off being named All-Ivy Second Team selections last year after Kaplan batted .311 with a team-high seven home runs and a .656 slugging percentage, which was the sixth-highest by a Big Red player since 1977.

Jensen paced Cornell's offense with his .338 batting average and registered 15 doubles. His .403 on-base percentage was tied with Waugh for the team lead, while Jensen and Kaplan each had a team-high 26 RBI last season.

Waugh hit at a .310 clip in his first collegiate season after his freshman campaign was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last season, he recorded 13 extra-base hits thanks to five doubles, three triples, and five home runs.

"We can be as strong as we want to be offensively, but if we can't move the count on the mound, if we can't pick it up and throw it on defense, then it's not going to matter," Pepicelli said. "When we talk about those veteran players, they're good offensive players, and they're also very good defensive players. I'm excited for what they can bring to the table."

Other players that could look to make an impact this season includes senior infielder Joe Hollerbach and outfielders Ryan Ross and Wils Guy.

Hollerbach, a mainstay at third base last season, is coming off hitting a career-high .287 with nine doubles, a pair of triples, three home runs and 19 RBI. Ross had a strong fall season and displayed some power with his bat. Guy was reliable in the outfield last season, committing just three errors in 85 fielding attempts. He also displayed his speed last season as he finishing tied for the team lead in steals with nine.

The double-play tandem of Ryan Porter and Matt Barnhorst returns for the Big Red this season, as well as the addition of freshman TJ Swidorski could also find his way in the middle of the infield this season.

"I really like what we can do defensively up the middle," Pepicelli noted.

Pitching

One of the biggest question marks for the season, according to Pepicelli, is going to be the Big Red's pitching staff.

Last year, Cornell's team earned-run average was near 9.00, but the program has good pieces that will look to improve upon last year's figures.

"We have some really exciting arms to work with this year," Pepicelli said. "They're relatively inexperienced, and how fast we can get them experience and get on board is going to be what makes or breaks the season.

"We're not going to know what we have until they get into playing another jersey, but they've certainly shown that they're really improving."
 
Some names Pepicelli mentioned to look for this season includes senior left-hander Spencer Edwards and sophomore two-way player William Jaun. He mentioned both players could be in the mix for the starting rotation for the Big Red this season. Fellow sophomore Chris Ellison was also "really good in the fall."

Of the incoming first-year players, Ethan Hamill has been praised as a "big right-hander" and a "powerful kid who could challenge for a spot on the weekend rotation." Pepicelli also showed his excitement for left-hander Noah Keller and right-hander Carson Mayfield.

Making the Move

Cornell is currently slated to make its move from its on-campus home at Hoy Field to a brand-new off-campus facility, Booth Field, which will be situated near Ellis Hollow and Game Farm Roads.

"It's two very different experiences," Pepicelli said. "Hoy has tremendous history, you know you're a part of something. When you're playing at Hoy, the environment around the field is tremendous with being right in the middle of campus.

"Booth Field has a very different feel to it. It has more development opportunities. We've got a nice indoor facility off the corner of the beautiful new field. Dimensions are a little more hitter-friendly. We're getting to a point now in the recruiting process where players need a real development experience and we'll be able to give it to them."

Ivy League Preseason Poll

Cornell was picked to finish eighth in the eight-team preseason poll, the Ivy League office announced last Friday, Feb. 17.

Coming off its impressive 2022 campaign, Columbia finished with an Ivy League-leading 124 points after receiving 12 of the 16 first-place votes. Penn had three first-place votes and finished with a 113-point total, while Dartmouth had the other first-place vote and is slated to finish third after amassing with 91 points.

Harvard (75), Yale (68), Brown (45), Princeton (31), and Cornell (29) rounded out the remainder of the poll.

Glancing at the Schedule

Cornell will open its schedule on Friday against James Madison in Harrisonburg, Va., which will be the first of 18 road games to open the 2023 slate.

The Big Red will play Ball State, Purdue Fort Wayne, and nationally-ranked Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C., next weekend before returning to the Commonwealth of Virginia for a pair of three-game series against VCU (March 10-12) and George Mason (March 18-19).

Ivy League play begins for Cornell on March 25-26 on the road against Yale before playing Columbia on April 1-2 in another road conference series.

April 4 is currently slated to be the Big Red's home opener when it hosts Ithaca for the first time since 2010 in a battle for the Mayor's Trophy. Following the contest against the Bombers, Cornell will welcome Ivy League rival Brown to East Hill for a three-game series on Easter weekend.

After a four-game road trip at Binghamton and Harvard, the Big Red will play its next seven games at home, beginning with a non-conference contest against Binghamton (April 18). The final six games of the homestand will be a pair of Ivy League weekends against Princeton (April 22-23) and Penn (April 28-29).

The regular season concludes with another four-game road trip when the Big Red plays Binghamton, for the third time of the season, on May 2 before heading to Dartmouth for the final Ivy League series on May 6-7.

Scouting James Madison

James Madison opened its 2023 season last weekend with a three-game series in Tallahassee, Fla., against Florida State before hosting George Mason on Tuesday in its home opener.

The Dukes (0-3) were swept by the Seminoles by 12-7, 5-1, and 17-10 scores.

Series History

Cornell and James Madison will be meeting for the sixth, seventh, and eighth times this weekend. The Dukes have a slight 3-2 advantage in the series, but Cornell has won the last two meetings.

In four of the previous five meetings between the Big Red and Dukes, Cornell has plated at least 12 runs. The Big Red has averaged 12.4 runs per game against James Madison.

This weekend will be the first time the two programs are playing each other since Cornell took two of three from JMU in 2014. Cornell scored at least 14 runs in all three games as the two programs combined for 78 runs in the three-game series.

Cornell set a couple of program records in the last series between the two programs. In the 16-15 loss, the Big Red registered nine doubles and hit five home runs — both of which remain program records. The last instance of Cornell hitting back-to-back-to-back home runs happened when Chris Cruz, Spencer Scorza, and Ryan Karl did so in the first inning of the Big Red's 17-8 win.