Penn baseball team fully focused as new season begins
The Quakers are the reigning Ivy League champions. A new year comes with new expectations.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The Phillies aren't the only team in town preparing for a new season. The University of Pennsylvania baseball team embarks on its 2024 campaign on Friday, February 23.
"Opening day is always exciting no matter how many times you do it," said head coach John Yurkow. "Everybody's excited to get the season started."
The Quakers are the reigning Ivy League champions. A new year comes with new expectations. They're taking it all in stride.
"We've handled it pretty well," said senior captain Wyatt Henseler. "We have a senior group that's experienced the really lows of COVID-19 and the highs of last year. Not trying to make it too much more than it is, just playing our game. When we control our own game, we have a good chance of winning every day."
The team finished 2023 with a 34-16 overall record, 16-5 in the conference. They clinched their first NCAA tournament berth since 1995 and were just voted the unanimous Ivy League preseason favorites.
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"We know that there's a target on our back, but we kind of put it in the rearview," said junior captain Ryan Drombowski. "We're focusing on just winning. It's a team sport, we're all here to unite with the fellas, and even with as big of a target as we have, it's never going to be an issue with us."
"You have a successful season and there's that trap that you don't want to fall into that things are just going to be like they were last year," Yurkow reflected. "It's all new, new team, so we have to go out and prove ourselves again."
Nine freshmen and one transfer student have joined the squad. They believe in the new faces and trust the veterans to show them the way.
"Those guys coming in here, I'm hoping that they come in, they see the older guys and the examples they've set over the past few years, and we can just continue to build off of it," Yurkow said.
Meanwhile, the captains follow the lead of Yurkow.
"Our coach is really great about keeping our expectations where they need to be -- not too high, not too low-- but also playing for the standard that we've created here, which is winning and coming out and competing every day," said Henseler.
Penn's season opens on the road in a series with Abilene Christian this weekend. The start of March will feature a 10-day road trip in South Carolina, where they're scheduled to play nine games. Then their home debut is slated for March 13 against Villanova.
