If you’ve been outside the last few days, then you’ve definitely noticed that spring is here. The end of a dreadful winter is an especially welcome sight for the Cornell baseball team, which begins its season on the road at Villanova with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. The Red then travels to St. Joseph’s for a Saturday afternoon matinee, and concludes its opening weekend against Temple in Philadelphia, Pa. on Sunday.

Cornell takes the field for the 2010 season with hopes of improving upon last year’s Ivy League Championship Series appearance.

“As a whole we’re looking forward to getting back to the Ivy League Championship game against Dartmouth to get some revenge,” said starting pitcher junior Jadd Schmeltzer.

The Red boasts a squad that will return eight of its 10 starters from last season, in addition to maintaining the same pitching staff that brought the team a solid presence on the mound a year ago. The Cornell offense will likely be spearheaded by sophomore right fielder Brian Billigen who hit a Ted Williams-esque .404 in 80 at-bats, while being named to the Ivy League’s Second-team. Junior first baseman Mickey Brodsky also earned an honorable mention in last year’s awards, in a season where he knocked in a team-best 37 runs.

The Red also returns three of its top pitchers in Schmeltzer, junior Corey Pappel and senior Matt Hill.

“It’s definitely a relief being able to get out of our indoor facility, and be able to face someone else that’s not on our team,” Schmeltzer said of finally being able to get out onto the field.

The trio of Cornell starters will likely be relieved by all-league closer senior David Rochefort, who established a new school record with eight saves last season and remains only one save away from establishing a new top mark for career saves.

Pappel echoed Schmeltzer’s sentiments, focusing on how nice it would be for the entire team to be playing together.The splendid splinter: Right fielder Brian Billigen (12) compiled a .404 batting average in 80 at-bats last season, in the Red’s fight for any Ivy League Championship. - By: Dan Salisbury

“Everybody’s getting a little sick of being indoors, and its nice to all be on the same team again,” he said.

Villanova enters this weekend on a three game winning streak having won 10 of its first 12 games this season. The Wildcats last took the field on Tuesday, when they edged out Bucknell, 6-5, in their home opener.

Unlike Villanova, St. Joseph’s has not had much success, starting its 2010 campaign off losing eight of its first nine. The Hawks take on the Red only a day after they host Northeastern in their first home game after spending the first few weeks of the season on the road.

The Red’s final opponent of the weekend, Temple, begins its first home stand of the season with a record of 1-10. The Owls picked up their first win of the season earlier this week against Delaware State, after starting off the season with 10 consecutive losses to Florida Gulf Coast, UNLV and Duke.

“We’re not expecting to be perfect out there … but as long as we can play sound baseball, we’ll be alright,” Pappel said.