ITHACA, N.Y. – It was a rough weekend for Cornell baseball. The Big Red endured sweeps from both Brown and Yale despite going to extra innings with the Bulldogs twice.
Game 1: BROWN 4, CORNELL 2 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senior left fielder Jordan Winawer earned his first collegiate home run in the Red’s 4-2 loss to Brown. Unfortunately, Winawer’s top-of-the-fifth leadoff game-tying homer concluded the Red’s highlights. Brown pitcher Chrisian Taugner threw ten strikeouts to earn the complete-game victory while the Bear’s offense took advantage of three Cornell errors in addition to scoring the go-ahead run off a squeeze play in the bottom of the fifth.
Three of Taugner’s strikeouts came in the sixth when junior Tommy Wagner stole all the way to third only to be left stranded without a hit.
Cornell junior starter Paul Balestrieri worked out of trouble to strand loaded bases in the fourth, but a pair of errors in the fifth resulted in Brown scoring the go-ahead run. Junior Jamie Flynn was then called up. Flynn produced a pair of ground outs to keep the Red’s deficit at bay.
The Bears scored two more runs in the sixth making the score 4-1. Despite a Cornell-induced two-out rally in the seventh, these two runs ultimately marked the point of no return for the Red.
Freshman designated hitter Mark Fraser started the seventh inning rally with a pinch-hit single while freshman right fielder Josh Arndt followed with an infield hit. Brown’s error enabled senior pinch runner Marlon Rainville to score the Red’s second run as Arndt maneuvered to third and senior pinch hitter Jacob Weston moved to second. A game ending foul out resulted in Brown’s 4-2 victory.
Game 2: BROWN 7, CORNELL 6 Little luck followed the Red in their second game of the weekend despite getting seven strong innings from junior starter Tim Willittes and sophomore catcher Ellis Bitar earning his first collegiate four-hit effort.
The Red plated three runs in the first but Brown scored five runs in the eighth to take the lead. Cornell earned eight of its 12 hits in the first four innings but failed to blow open the game by grounding out twice into double plays with the bases loaded.
Bitar went 4-for-5 including a double from the leadoff spot to give Cornell its first individual four-hit game of the season while junior shortstop Frankie Padulo went 3-for-4 with run-scoring singles in the fourth and fifth innings to establish a 6-2 Cornell lead.
Brown hit the eighth with a vengeance. Five consecutive hits in addition to a two-run single produced the tying and go-ahead runs. Cornell proceeded to drop the game, 7-6.
— WEST HAVEN, Conn. — The baseball team played two extra-inning games against the Ivy League team with the best league record to date, but ultimately came up empty with losses of 4-2 and 9-8 on Sunday at Yale Field.
Cornell (8-13, 2-4 Ivy League) will return home for its next seven games, starting with a non-league contest against Binghamton at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Hoy Field in Ithaca, N.Y.
Game 1: YALE 4, CORNELL 2 (11 innings) Despite a fifth inning two run rally, a walk-off two-run home run in the 11th ended Cornell’s opening fight against the Bulldogs.
Bitar’s strong weekend continued as the sophomore catcher went 3-for-5 while hitting his first collegiate home run to lead off the fifth inning and drop Yale’s lead to 2-1. A pair of walks followed by junior Cole Rutherford’s center bound single propelled junior C.J. Price over the plate to tie the game.
Bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the fifth, the Big Red called upon senior Michael Byrne who promptly induced a ground ball double play followed by a strikeout. Byrne produced six scoreless, one-hit innings.
Unfortunately, the Big Red failed to score any additional runs and the Bulldogs drove home the 4-2 win in the 11th.
In total, Wagner went 2-for-3 including three walks while senior Jacob Weston and junior Frankie Padulo each secured doubles.
Game 2: YALE 9, CORNELL 8 (10 innings) A late Bulldog rally once again spelled disaster for the Red. Junior starter Peter Lannoo threw seven solid innings before Yale rallied with four runs in the bottom of the eighth and junior reliever Austin Wahl stepped in.
Cornell remained calm at the plate while working ten walks. A wild pitch and an error produced the Red’s first two runs before Bitar rocketed a two-run single to left making the score 4-0 heading into the bottom of the second.
The Bulldogs slowly began breaking down the Big Red but not before freshman Mark Fraser smacked an RBI double in the fifth and freshman Josh Arndt drove in two additional runs with bases loaded in the seventh. Wagner also produced an RBI double with two outs in the eighth after Price walked to send Cornell into the eighth with an 8-4 lead. Yale trailed 8-4 entering the eighth inning. However, the deficit wasn’t deep enough to prevent the Bulldogs from biting back. Freshman first baseman Benny Wagner’s RBI groundout set up senior right fielder Nate Adams to cap a four-run frame and tie the game at eight.
With the bases loaded and one out in the 10th, junior infielder Harrison White drove in Yale’s winning run with a single to right-center.
Up Next: Cornell begins a seven-game home stand with a non-league match versus regional rival Binghamton on Wednesday at Hoy Field. The Red then play a four game weekend series against Columbia followed by a mid-week doubleheader against Dartmouth.
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