After splitting a doubleheader with Penn over the weekend, the baseball team returned to Hoy Field with hopes of improving its non-conference record in a match-up against Siena before returning to Ivy play this weekend against Columbia.
The Red (11-17, 4-8 Ivy) split the twin bill with the Saints (14-21, 3-6 MAAC), with Siena taking the first game in a lopsided affair, 13-2, and Cornell coming back to win game two by a final score of 7-2.
Junior starting pitcher Jadd Schmeltzer started game one for the Red and lasted two innings while allowing two runs on four hits on one strikeout. Cornell’s bullpen, however, provided little relief as freshmen Mike Kazley and Joe Sinopoli combined to give up 11 runs (nine earned) on 12 hits in five innings of work. The Red offense did little to support its pitching staff, as the team could only muster six hits on the day.
Freshman left fielder Brenton Peters contributed an RBI on one hit in three at-bats, while junior first baseman Mickey Brodsky came through with two hits in the first game of the doubleheader.
The top of the Siena batting order had little trouble getting on base, as the top five men in the order combined for 14 of the team’s 16 hits. Second baseman Dan Paolini led the Saints with a four for five day at the plate including four RBIs, while clean-up hitting first baseman Kevin Quaranto had two hits in four at-bats while driving three runs to the home plate.
The Cornell offense was no match for Saints starter Nicco Stento, who allowed only two unearned runs over 6.1 innings of work.
However, the Red came out in game two looking like a different ball club, scoring three runs in the first inning off Siena starter Ivan Lama. The Saints’ starter exited in the second inning and handed it off to his bullpen, which proceeded to surrender four more runs over the final 4.2 innings.
Sophomore starting pitcher Brian Billigen put his hitting abilities on display out of the top spot in the Cornell lineup, compiling a hit in two at-bats and scoring two runs in the game. On the mound Billigen was equally impressive, allowing only two runs in four innings of work. The Red bullpen allowed only one hit over the game’s final three innings — sophomore Rick Marks pitched a hitless fifth inning and senior closer Dave Rochefort finished off the final two innings, allowing only one hit and striking out one.
After a rough game one, the Red’s offense came to life in game two with Brodsky leading the way in a three for three effort at the plate. Schmeltzer added two hits and drove in three of the Red’s seven runs.
The Red looks to add on to its one-game winning streak this weekend in a four-game series against Columbia at Hoy Field scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. on Saturday with game two of the twin bill following at 2:30 p.m. The teams will return to the field on Sunday for another doubleheader, also scheduled to begin at noon.
Original Author: Evan Rich