Baseball (1-2, 0-0 Ivy) officially began its season on Feb. 23, traveling to Atlanta for a weekend series against Georgia Tech (6-1, 0-0 ACC). After finishing last season in seventh place in the Ivy League, the Red looked to get on track early, facing a Yellow Jackets team that came into Friday’s game winning its first four matchups of the season. The Georgia Tech offense was ultimately too much for Cornell to handle, as the Red dropped the first two games of the series, 9-6 and 12-2, before showcasing its offensive weapons with an 11-4 victory in the finale.
The first game featured a battle between Cornell sophomore pitcher Carson Mayfield and Camron Hill from the Yellow Jackets. Hill, who struck out seven batters in only four innings, surrendered his only hit in the first at bat of the game, when freshman Luke Johnson doubled to right field. After a wild pitch from Hill, Johnson advanced to third and would eventually score on a bases-loaded walk to put the Red ahead 1-0.
In the bottom half of the inning, Georgia Tech evened the score with a run of its own, plating Drew Burress after Payton Green tripled down the left field line. Mayfield would get out of the inning with no further damage after forcing a fly out and strikeout.
Mayfield surrendered one more run in the third inning before being replaced by sophomore pitcher Noah Keller. Keller went three and a third innings, giving up four runs and striking out three. With five walks, Keller struggled with his command and was later pulled for freshman pitcher Max Foster.
As the game continued into the later innings, the difference came in the seventh and eighth innings, when the Yellow Jackets put up a combined seven runs over the two frames. Cornell led 5-2 before the bottom half of the seventh, but three walks, an error and a bases-clearing double by Burress gave Georgia Tech the 6-5 advantage.
In the eighth, the Yellow Jackets would extend the lead to 9-5 on two home runs before securing the 9-6 victory the following inning.
Saturday’s game was all about the first inning, as Georgia Tech scored eight runs before the Red could secure three outs. Burress continued his hot hitting with two home runs in the inning, while freshman pitcher Huxley Holcombe struggled in his first outing.
The Red battled throughout, recording nine hits to Georgia Tech’s 12, but the first inning was too much to overcome as Cornell dropped the game, 12-2. Senior pitcher Story Kimura was a bright spot in the game as he put up two shutout innings, striking out four and giving up only one base runner.
Sunday’s finale showcased strong pitching and powerful hitting from the Red as the team rallied to an 11-4 victory. Junior pitcher William Jaun and sophomore pitcher Ethan Hamill excelled in their first outings of the year, surrendering a combined seven hits and four runs through nine frames. On the offensive side of the ball, eight Cornell players recorded at least one hit, including three batters with two apiece.
In the first inning, senior catcher Nathan Waugh put the Red on the board with a solo homer. Sophomore infielder TJ Swidorski followed that up in the second inning with his first of three RBIs, which led all Cornell batters in the game.
The Yellow Jackets’ two errors hurt its chances at sweeping the series, as Johnson scored on a fielding error by the first baseman in the sixth, and three Cornell runs crossed the plate on another fielding error by Georgia Tech right fielder Parker Brosius.
Cornell rode its pitching and timely hitting to its first win of the season, 11-4.
The Red will look to continue its momentum next weekend, when it travels to Virginia to battle James Madison in a three-game series from March 1-3. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.