Seven errors, one balk, 24 runners left on base, and 11 innings later, the Red had lost its third game of the season in its return trip to Philadelphia this past weekend.
The extra-inning contest was a 7-6 loss to Villanova (12-5) in the third game played between the two squads in the past two weekends.
The Wildcats clung to a 3-0 lead until the top of the seventh inning when freshman Kaleb Hutchinson started the inning with a base hit and later scored on an RBI double by senior co-captain Jon Finch.
The Red tied the contest up an inning later when sophomore William Pauly scored two runs on a two-out single.
The squads went back and forth until the 11th inning when the Red took the lead in the top of the inning as sophomore Seth Gordon moved to third on a wild pitch and then scored on one of four Villanova errors.
The Wildcats tied the game in the 11th when Alan Day scored on junior Matt Miller’s throwing error. Then, with two on and two outs, Kelly Pickel drove in Brian Newbold in his only at bat of the game to win the contest for Villanova.
Junior Conor Kelly suffered the loss to drop to 1-1 on the season. Kelly pitched three innings, allowing three hits, and the game-winning run.
Fortunately for the Red, it also played a twin-bill with St. Joseph’s (2-17) over the weekend, sweeping the Hawks by scores of 13-4 in the first game, and 6-3 in the second.
The Red offense came alive in the first game as the Red scored two runs in the second inning, four in the third, and six in the fourth to seal the win.
The lineup scored its 13 runs on 13 hits, getting multi-hit games from three different players, including junior Jon Miller who drove in a season-high four runs.
Sophomore Rocky Collis started on the hill for the Red, earning his first victory of the season after six innings of work. Collis struck out five and allowed five hits in the win.
The Red used timely hitting to sweep St. Joe’s in game two, 6-3.
The Hawks again took an early lead, but the Cornell offense came to life with a four-run sixth inning to take the lead for good. Hutchinson was the spark for the Red as he was 3-4 with three doubles and two runs scored in the contest.
Senior Dan Gala pitched five solid innings to earn his first win of the season, while junior Tad Bardenwerper earned the save.
The Red will head into its spring break to California with a 3-3 mark. Cornell will play seven games in seven days out west, including two game against Cal Poly SLO and five against UC Santa Barbara.
The Red’s first home contest will be against Harvard on April 4 when it plays host to Harvard to open its Ivy League slate.
Archived article by Chris Mascaro