Drew Logel belted a two-run homer in the ninth inning, although Cornell couldn’t complete the comeback Sunday in a 10-7 baseball loss to Midwest Conference foe Knox at Blodgett Field.
The Rams tallied 12 hits in the game, nine coming from the No. 1-4 batters in their lineup. Seth Beals and James Kent led the way with three hits apiece.
Colin Gierula went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs. Logel was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Knox plated three runs each in the third and fourth innings to build a 7-4 lead. Cornell reliever Carter Kriegel kept the Rams within striking distance, striking out seven over 3.1 innings.
Following the Knox contest, the Rams headed to Moline, Ill., to play a nonconference game against Augustana and fell 10-0 in seven innings.
Augustana capitalized on five unearned runs in the second inning and led 8-0 through three. Cai Brevig and Beals each pitched one scoreless inning for the Rams, who were not credited with a hit.
On Saturday, Cornell and Knox split the games in play at Ash Park field.
Cornell junior right-hander Jake Schope was tough in Game 1, striking out 12 and yielding just three hits in a 7-4 victory. Knox countered with Matthew Shover in Game 2 and claimed a 2-0 shutout win.
Knox scored twice in the top of the ninth and brought the tying run to the plate with one out, when Kriegel came on to close it. Kriegel recorded back-to-back strikeouts to earn his second save of the spring.
The Rams got two hits apiece from Kale Rose, Darren Mancke and Colin Konicek. Mancke doubled twice. Rose also had two extra-base hits, including a solo homer in the eighth. Konicek added two RBIs. James Kent stole three bases.
Cornell’s lineup was bottled up with only two hits against Shover in Game 2. The Rams managed a two-out single from Mancke in the second and a leadoff single from Paxon Wright in the fifth.
Knox scored its first run on a two-out double in the fifth. The Prairie Fire also doubled home a run in the seventh.
Earlier in the week, Cornell’s baseball team rallied six runs in its final two at-bats for a 9-8 walk-off victory over Grinnell.
Game 2 of the scheduled doubleheader was postponed due to cold temperatures.
The Rams worked their way back from a 7-3 deficit after seven innings, and trailed 8-6 going into the bottom of the ninth.
Alec Boldt’s leadoff double off the right-field fence started the ninth-inning comeback. Pinch runner Colton Slinger scored on a misplayed grounder and Rose’s groundout scored Mancke to tie the game at 8-8.
With runners on second and third and two outs, Beals walked and Konicek sprinted home for the winning run on the ball-four pitch in the dirt that scooted away from the Grinnell catcher.
The Rams accounted for six of their eight total hits in the final two innings. Grinnell finished with 15 hits.
Beals went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Rose had two RBIs from the leadoff spot. James Kent doubled and also drove in two.
Relief pitcher Kriegel (1-4) recorded the final two outs in the ninth to earn the win. Starter Kole Hinrichsen struck out seven over 6.1 innings. Vince Zipperer came on to throw 1.2 scoreless innings, giving the Rams a chance at the end.