After finishing an Ivy League worst 10-30 in 2011, the Big Red Baseball Team has shocked the nation here in 2012. The team is currently 31-15-1 on the season going from worst to first in the Ivy League and winning their first ever Ivy League Championship title by besting Dartmouth in a best of three series at Hoy Field in Ithaca. The 31 wins for the Big Red are the most the team has recorded in a single season in over a hundred years of the program’s existence. With the victory over Dartmouth, the Big Red are set to play in just their second NCAA Regional in program history (only other appearance was in 1977) as they are set to take on the #6 University of North Carolina Tar Heels Friday afternoon in the Chapel Hill Regional
The Big Red will send senior right handed starting pitcher Rick Marks to the mound against the 44-14 Tar Heels. Marks has been quite the presence in the Big Red rotation, posting a 3.09 earned run average with a 4-4 record over 11 outings in 2012. The Big Red have won 6 out of his 10 starts this season with arguably his most impressive outing of the year coming back on April 1 against Dartmouth, where he worked 7 1/3 innings picking up the win and allowing just two runs. The Big Flats, New York native has been the veteran on this Big Red staff and has done an excellent job of mentoring some of the team’s most promising young arms in guys like Brent Jones, Kellen Urbon, and Brian McAfee, who is scheduled to start the second game of the regional Saturday afternoon.
Marks’ counterpart for UNC is Hobbs Johnson, a left handed pitcher who only recently joined the Tar Heel rotation. The North Carolina native has been electrifying on the mound, posting 1.37 ERA over 52 2/3 innings out the bullpen and rotation this year. Johnson’s 6-1 record and excellent strike out to walk ratio make him very tough on opposing hitters. He carried a perfect game into the 8th inning against ACC opponent Virginia Tech, a team that narrowly defeated the Big Red in two matchups earlier this season. The left hander will face a Big Red lineup with some left handed pop so the advantage appears to lie with Johnson and the Tar Heels, but these Cornell hitters have seen quite a few tough lefties this season and seen some success in those ballgames.
Speaking of the Big Red offense, Cornell has some excellent hitters. The biggest threat by and large for the Big Red in the lineup is senior center fielder Brian Billigen who leads the team batting .362 with 5 HR and a team leading 38 RBI. With five hitters coming in to the Regional hitting over .290, the Big Red pose a formidable threat at the plate. Brenton Peters, the Cornell lead off man and second baseman has been a table setter for the Big Red leading the team with .449 on base percentage and he’s hitting .380 in games that the team has won so getting him on base is key to the team’s success. Every hitter one through nine has the ability to come up with a big hit and look for senior right handed hitters Marshall Yanzick and Frank Hager to set the tone against the lefty Johnson. But don’t forget Chris Cruz, the right fielder has hit a single season record 12 HR in 2012 including a walk off home run to send the Big Red to this NCAA Regional.
The Tar Heels also have a dominant offense and have showcased that offense against some of the best teams in the country. Lead by third baseman Colin Moran who comes into play with a .362 average out of the third spot in the order, UNC can pound opposing pitchers. Moran injured himself during the season and in his absence the Tar Heels still managed a 13-8 record. That was because of the offensive contributions of lead off man Chaz Frank and catcher Jacob Stallings who hit .303 and .299 respectively driving in 75 runs as a whole. Keeping Frank off of the bases will be a key for the Big Red, as he has swiped 16 bags in 20 attempts this year. As a team, the Tar Heels have posted a nearly 1-1 split in strikeouts versus walks at the plate, an almost unheard of feat.
The Big Red have benefitted from a combination of senior leadership and excellent talent out of the freshman class, which have allowed them to improve dramatically over their 2011 season. The team exhibits an unusually calm demeanor ever in the most stressful situations, which has allowed them to win games when all hope seemed lost. Following this team over the past few days, there is a sense that the pressure is on UNC to win this ballgame. The Big Red may be the only ones who believe they can win, but one thing is for certain, they are going to make things interesting for the Tar Heels.
For radio coverage of this game follow this link, game time is tentatively scheduled for 2:30 PM EST.
http://www.cornellbigred.com/showcase/#liveevents
