Nate Jennewein (’23) is a starting pitcher on the Robinson baseball team who just recently committed to play D1 baseball at Cornell University to further his academic and athletic career. His recruiting process with Cornell began when he attended a showcase in Boston over the summer where Head Coach, Dan Pepicelli identified him and offered on the spot.

Jennewein said that they “gave [him] an offer almost immediately.” However, he still had a decision to make, given the interest he had received from other schools before ultimately deciding to take his talents to Ithaca. Going forward, he takes past Robinson college committers as his inspiration.

“The players from past years were big role models for me, I saw the guys that went on to play in college and wanted to be like them,” he said.

Jennewein’s goals and aspirations for his senior season and the future are lofty, but attainable, with the goal of “[laying] it all out there for my senior year and make the R proud” Looking onwards to his freshman year at Cornell, he plans to get as physical as possible before stepping onto a college field.

At the end of the day, baseball is Jennewein’s passion, he simply wants to “play ball”.

“Baseball and pitching is very simple to me. It’s a perfect one on one where you can dominate the guy across from you. I love to compete,” Jennewein said.

As a pitcher, he is always hungry to improve and compete at the highest levels. He has worked on perfecting his fastball, as well as keeping focus and control during games. One of the ways he improves is watching professional players shove, watch what they do, and try to implement such adjustments into his own game.

“I watch a lot of Trevor Bauer. He has a very scientific approach to the game, and he has had to work a ton being a smaller guy like me,” Jennewein said.

When talking about his favorite highlight of his Robinson baseball career, he remembers the game against the Plant Panthers last year. He took a ‘no hitter’ into the fifth inning against a team that ended up in the state semifinal, showing himself that his skill was strong and to be continued into the future.

His team members also noted his skill, along with social aspects that make a him a great attribute to any team.

“Nate is the hardest working player on the diamond… he brings a high energy level to practice and games which is contagious and raises the team’s level and standards.”

All in all, throughout his baseball journey, Jennewein has learned lessons that rarely found outside of sport.

“Baseball has taught me to fail. When I go out there and suck, I’m still confident in sticking to my plan and resetting quickly before the next game,” Jennewein said.