Senior Jon Finch, Sophomore William Pauly and Freshman Kaleb Hutchinson were the offensive starts for the baseball team (13-29, 7-13 Ivy) all season long. Monday’s season finale victory over Columbia (14-28, 8-12 Ivy) was no different.
Leading off the ninth inning, Pauly launched a walk-off homerun over the outfield wall at Hoy Field to cap off the Cornell season on a high note. The transfer from Vanderbilt finished off his impressive first year the Red strong, going two for four on the day while also scoring three times.
However, neither Finch’s nor Hutchinson’s performances could be overshadowed by Pauly’s dramatic game winning shot. Finch topped off his career-best senior year campaign scoring once and collecting two hits, including a run scoring double. Meanwhile, Hutchinson, besides crossing plate three times and collecting a stolen base, had a go-ahead two run homer in the seventh inning among the three hits he collected on the day.
Cornell got on the scoreboard first against the Lions after sophomore Matt Miller got hit by a pitch in the first inning, and then came around to score on Hutchinson’s fielder’s choice after a pair of Columbia errors. Later on in the third, the Red added to that lead as Finch, senior Dan Parant and senior David Bredhoff each drove in a run apiece with clutch hits.
The lead did not last long for the Red, however, as the Lion’s capatalized a pair of walks by Cornell freshman starter Blake Hamilton in the fourth to tie the score on four unearned runs. Finch’s RBI double in the fifth put Cornell back on top briefly before a pair of Columbia solo shots off Red relievers in the sixth and seventh gave the Lions their first lead of the game, 6-5.
After Hutchinson’s go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh, Columbia managed to squeeze out one more unearned run from the Cornell pitching staff to tie the game momentarily before Pauly’s dramatics in the ninth.
Sophomore Michael Hudson earned the win for the Red, allowing two hits in his 1 and 1/3 innings to close out the game. Meanwhile, Columbia starter Brian Doveala worked all eight innings for the Lions, giving up nine hits and eight runs in the losing cause.
Offensively, Columbia was led by Daniel Ramos’s three for five performance that included a home run and three RBI. First baseman Ryan Schmidt also hit a home run for the Lions.
Even with the win, the Red finished a game beind Columbia in the fight for second-place in the Red Rolfe divison behind Princeton. The Red did finish ahead of lowly Pennsylvain, after surpassing them by taking three out of four from the Quakers in Philadelphia three weeks ago.
Archived article by Scott Reich
Sun Staff Writer