As Feb. 22 quickly approaches, NYU’s baseball team anxiously awaits its season opener against the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Almost 10 months ago, the Violets wrapped up a respectable 19-13 2022 season, but ultimately fell short of the postseason. With key players returning for NYU, as well as a deep incoming recruiting class, the Violets expect to improve upon last year and set a higher standard for the baseball program.

With a new season comes new leaders. In 2022, graduate student Jacob Singer guided the dugout with a .357 batting average, 35 hits and 19 runs batted in. With last season’s leading batter now graduating, NYU will look for new faces to lead the stat sheet and take over the diamond. Senior second baseman Connor Roggero and junior outfielder Cam Dunn showed flashes of talent throughout last season as they both batted well above .300 on the year, making them potential stars for 2023.

Additionally, the team’s outfielders will look to lead in the batter’s box, including senior Nick Argenziano, who registered five home runs and 25 RBI during the previous season — both of which ranked second on the team.

As a team, NYU hopes to continue its impressive batting statistics from last season. The Violets combined for a team batting average of .298 as well as an OPS of .857. Despite their low game volume, the team batted in 233 runs and finished with 313 hits. With more games on the schedule this season, the players look to break these numbers and finish at the top of the rankings.

On the mound, NYU’s pitching rotation will likely remain the same in 2023. With graduate left-hand pitcher John Gassler opting to stay for a fifth season, the team’s bullpen standout hopes to repeat his impressive stat line of a strong 2.75 ERA across 15 appearances last season. In late-game situations, the team heavily relied on his arm to secure close contests. The rest of the bullpen looks stable as well, with few contributors having graduated during the off-season. 

One struggle that plagued the Violets, however, was conference play, as the team’s ERA saw massive leaps during UAA matchups, and relievers began to cycle through. Pitchers like Ashwin Chona and Tyler Judge each started four conference games and pitched a total of 23 and 25.2 innings, respectively. With this much usage, the bats need to perform to limit the starters’ fatigue, as more innings lead to more pitches.

In the upcoming season, the team faces a unique schedule that includes both difficult conference matchups and winnable NCAA games. NYU is slated to play non-conference series against Russell Sage College, Wells College, McDaniel College, Illinois Institute of Technology, Purchase College, SUNY New Paltz and Catholic University.

In UAA contests, the Violets are scheduled to play Emory University on the road, and face Brandeis University, Washington University and Case Western Reserve University, all at home. Each UAA series will be a four-game set.

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

Contact Malone Lohmann at [email protected]