Cornell (4-19, 1-7 Ivy) will have its hands full with red-hot LeMoyne (15-11, 9-0 MAAC) who enter today’s 4 p.m. contest in Syracuse riding the wave of an eleven-game winning streak. The Red will give the starting nod to freshman Trevor Vieweg for his first collegiate start. In his three appearances as a reliever, the right-handed pitcher has given up nine hits and four earned runs while accumulating a 9.82 ERA.
Vieweg will have a tough assignment in his first outing as he goes up against a line-up with six batters hitting .317 or above. The Dolphins are also averaging over six runs a game after scoring a total of 34 runs in their three game sweep over Cansius this past weekend.
Leading LeMoyne is senior outfielder Jeff Justice who is currently hitting .386 while also among the MAAC conference leaders in runs, doubles and homeruns. The Red will also have to keep an eye out on speedy senior Kyle Brown, a .363 hitter, who has already nabbed 22 stolen bases in 24 attempts this season.
Losers in 16 of its last 17 games, Cornell has been unable to find a way to break out of its tailspin that began with its winless road trip over spring break.
“We’ve had a tough time these past couple of weeks,” said head coach Tom Ford. “We’re just trying to stay tough and battle our way through it.”
In last Friday’s doubleheader against Brown, the Red pushed a total of 17 runs across the plate. However, the Cornell pitching staff was unable to stop the Bear batters from plating 24 runs between the two games.
“We just haven’t been able to put the hitting and pitching together,” Ford said. Overall, Cornell has only managed to score a little less than four runs a game, while batting .268 as a team.
Senior co-captain Jon Finch and sophomore William Pauley continue to be among the team’s offensive leaders with .377 and .320 batting averages, respectively. Meanwhile, classmate Seth Gordon and freshman Kaleb Hutchinson have emerged as solid starters as they co-lead the team in doubles with six apiece, while having scored a combined 23 runs.
On the mound, despite averaging almost a strikeout every inning, the pitching staff’s ERA has remained just above the eight run plateau throughout the season. Opposing batters have also enjoyed hitting .321 and hammering 17 home runs against Red pitching.
Even with its troubles, Cornell is continuing to work hard at turning its season around as the team heads into its last few weeks.
“All we can do is try to relax, stay tough and continue to play through it,” said Ford.
Archived article by Scott Reich
Sun Staff Writer