NYU Baseball prepares to kick off its 2023 campaign

The Violets enter their eighth season since the inception of their baseball program as they strive to reach new heights.

As February 22 approaches, the NYU baseball team is looking forward to the season opener against the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Nearly 10 months ago, the Violets finished a respectable 2022 season with a 19–13 record but ultimately fell short of the playoffs. With the return of key players to NYU, as well as a large number of recruits, the Violets look to improve their performance from last year and set a higher standard for the baseball program.

With the new season comes new leaders. In 2022, graduate student Jacob Singer managed the dugout with a .357 batting average, 35 hits and 19 runs. Now that last season’s top hitter is graduating, NYU will be looking for new faces to top the stats list and pick up the diamond. Senior second baseman Connor Rogero and junior outfielder Cam Dunn showed flashes of talent during last season as they both hit well over .300 on the year, making them potential stars for 2023.

In addition, the team’s outfielders will look to lead the slugging field, including senior Nick Argenziano, who registered five home runs and 25 RBIs the previous season — both of which were second-best on the team.

As a team, NYU is looking to maintain last season’s impressive stats. In total, the Violets posted a team average of .298 and an OPS of .857. Despite the low game volume, the team had 233 runs and finished with 313 hits. There will be more games on the schedule this season and players are looking to beat those numbers and finish at the top of the rankings.

On the mound, NYU’s pitching rotation is likely to remain the same in 2023. With alumnus left-hander pitcher John Gassler opting to stay for a fifth season, the team’s standout bullpen is looking to repeat his impressive stats: a strong 2.75 ERA in 15 games. last season. In late game situations, the team relied heavily on his hand to secure close competition. The rest of the bullpen also looks stable, with several employees graduating in the offseason.

However, one of the problems that plagued the Purples was conference play, as the team’s ERA experienced huge spikes during UAA games and pitchers began to show up. Pitchers like Ashwin Chona and Tyler Judge each started four conference games and played a total of 23 and 25.2 innings, respectively. With such heavy use, the bats must work to limit starter fatigue, as more innings equals more shots.

The team will have a unique schedule for the upcoming season that includes tough conference games as well as winning NCAA games. NYU is scheduled to play a non-conference series against Russell Sage College, Wells College, McDaniel College, Illinois Institute of Technology, Purchase College, SUNY New Paltz and Catholic University.

In the UAA competition, the Violets are scheduled to play Emory University on the road and face Brandeis University, the University of Washington, and Case Western Reserve University at home. Each UAA Series will consist of four games.

With an experienced lineup and competitive schedule, this sky is the limit for NYU as they look to win the UAA for the first time in the program’s history.

Contact Malone Lohmann at [email protected]