The baseball team came within one win of its first Ivy League championship since 1977 last season. After losing the decisive third game in the championship series to Dartmouth last May, the Red is counting on a more experienced pitching staff and a retooled lineup to contend for the conference crown again this season. Cornell has opened the season 6-10 and split its first four games of conference play. Below is a position-by-position breakdown of the roster that has its sights set on a conference championship.

In baseball, a team’s success can often be measured by its ability to win close games. The Red (6-10, 2-2 Ivy) lost its third consecutive one-run game on Tuesday to Binghamton, 10-9, after starting off the season 2-0 in one-run ballgames.

The baseball team split a doubleheader with Dartmouth on Friday before doing the same against Harvard on Saturday. The team plays Binghamton at home today at 3:30 p.m.

In sports, there’s nothing more challenging than coming back from behind to earn an upset victory. The Red (4-7) almost managed this feat on Wednesday against LeMoyne (14-12) when it came back in the top of the ninth inning to take a 6-5 lead against the Dolphins. However, this lead proved short-lived as Cornell was unable to hold its advantage, eventually surrendering two runs in the bottom of the ninth, falling to LeMoyne, 7-6.

Junior starting pitcher Mickey Brodsky began the game allowing only one run in two innings, handing the ball off to freshman Mike Kazley and senior Matt Hill who both managed scoreless frames, maintaining a 2-1 Cornell lead.  

After ending last season atop the Gehrig Division alongside Red Rolfe division champion Dartmouth, the baseball team will have an opportunity to take on its Ancient Eight foe in a rematch of last season’s Ivy League Championship Series — but first, it will travel to Syracuse, N.Y. for a non-conference game today at 4:00 p.m. against LeMoyne College.

“The lives of the athletes are too easy.” These are the words that many of us have heard from fellow Cornellians. However, being a Cornell athlete is not as simple as it may seem. They have to deal with all the demanding training and preparation that competitive sports require, in addition to the academic pressures of Cornell.

While you are at home having a good time or at some Caribbean island enjoying a nice weather during Spring Break, the baseball team will play a total of nine games in a span of eight days.

After 10-0 loss to Dartmouth in the decisive game of last year’s Ivy League Championship Series, there was nothing the Cornell baseball team could do except wait for a chance at redemption in the 2010 season. That opportunity was put on hold for three days in Philadelphia, Pa. when the Red was rained out of a three-game road trip against Villanova and St. Joseph’s.

In baseball, it’s usually three strikes and you’re out; however Cornell’s team will take a fourth swing at opening its season this afternoon. The Red had three games scheduled in Philadelphia this past weekend, any of which would have been the team’s season opener, but all of the games were rained out.

If you’ve been outside the last few days, then you’ve definitely noticed that spring is here. The end of a dreadful winter is an especially welcome sight for the Cornell baseball team, which begins its season on the road at Villanova with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. The Red then travels to St. Joseph’s for a Saturday afternoon matinee, and concludes its opening weekend against Temple in Philadelphia, Pa. on Sunday.

Cornell takes the field for the 2010 season with hopes of improving upon last year’s Ivy League Championship Series appearance.