Just as Xavier shattered the St. Joseph basketball team’s undefeated dream season yesterday, the Cornell baseball team will try to bring down the Hawks as it travels to Philadelphia this weekend. The Red will play St. Joseph’s (2-15) in a double header tomorrow before heading to Villanova Sunday to play their third game against the Wildcats in eight days.
Sophomore Rocky Collis will get the start against the Hawks in the first game tomorrow. Collis, a sophomore, had the lowest ERA, 3.26, last season among all returning Cornell pitchers. In 47 innings last season, the power pitcher went 3-2 while compiling 36 strikeouts. He also got the start in the first half of last weekend’s double header against Villanova. After giving up four runs on six hits in four innings, Collis was credited for the loss in the Red’s 4-2 defeat.
In the second-half of the doubleheader, senior Dan Gala will get the start for the Red. A 3-3 starter last year, Gala accumulated a 5.91 ERA in his nine appearances on the mound. He also started last Saturday’s 8-7 loss against LaSalle, giving up all eight runs in his four innings of work.
Although Saint Joseph’s has not gotten off to a good start in its 2004 campaign, the team’s record is deceptive. Many of its losses came playing against teams that were able to take advantage of warm weather during the winter.
Head coach Tom Ford acknowledged that the Hawks should be a good test for the Red, saying that, “Whenever you play a division-one team, they are going to be pretty good