The Red is set to open up the season this weekend with a road trip to Princess Anne, MD to face off against University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
The Hawks, who went 9-41 last season in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, are returning their starting middle infielders and six of their seven starting pitchers. Despite only garnering nine wins in the regular season last year, seven of them were conference victories, giving the Hawks a No. 5 seed in the MEAC tournament.
With a packed roster of 35 players and only six seniors, the Red, which went 10-30 last year, begins the season with a mixture of experience and youth. The roster also sports six freshman pitchers. At the top of the freshman class is right-handed pitcher Roberto Suppa, who was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 26th round of the MLB draft, but elected to play at Cornell.
The top three starting pitchers in the Red’s rotation last year have all graduated. However, sophomore Connor Kaufmann, who pitched 25 innings as a freshman and garnered a 4.68 ERA, returns with another year of strength in his arm.
As for offense, senior infielder Marshall Yanzick will lead the Red. Yanzick started 39 of the team’s 40 games at shortstop last season, and led the team with a .328 batting average.
The Red has back-to-back double headers this weekend and next weekend, when it will travel to Washington D.C. to face George Washington.
Original Author: Scott Chiusano