Cornell’s baseball team didn’t get the sweep it desired Saturday, although finished off Midwest Conference play with a dramatic 2-1 Game 2 victory in 12 innings over Ripon at Francis Field.
In Game 1, Ripon rallied for two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning for a 6-5 win, which eliminated the Rams from postseason contention.
Cornell wound up with an 11-13 record in the MWC. Ripon clinched a berth in the four-team MWC Tournament at 13-11 in league play.
A terrific pitchers’ duel in Game 2 was scoreless through 11 innings. The Rams finally broke through in the top of the 12th on a two-out, two-run double from pinch-hitter Aiden Monce that plated Seth Beals and Darren Mancke for a 2-0 Cornell lead. The decisive hit was the first of the season for Monce, who had only 10 official at-bats prior to that moment.
Junior reliever Carter Kriegel claimed a hard-earned save, thwarting a Ripon rally in the bottom of the 12th. The Red Hawks pulled within 2-1 and had two runners on base when Kriegel escaped the jam with a game-ending ground ball to shortstop James Kent.
Cornell starting pitcher Jake Schope turned in his best outing of the season, striking out eight and allowing five hits over eight shutout innings. Kale Rose (1-1) tossed three scoreless innings in relief to record his first collegiate pitching win.
Beals finished 2-for-5 with a run and a stolen base. The Rams totaled five hits, two coming in their last at-bat (Beals, Monce). Cornell’s pitching staff held the Red Hawks to six hits.
The Rams were on the cusp of taking the opening game, carrying a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the eighth. Cornell reliever Chad Dzierba retired the first two Red Hawks in the eighth. But Ripon responded with a hit batsman, a double and a single to pull ahead 6-5.
Cornell went down in order in the ninth, ending its run at an MWC Tournament bid.
Cornell starter Kole Hinrichsen struck out five batters over seven innings, leaving with the Rams up 5-4. Hinrichsen increased his season strikeout total to 71, four shy of the school record.
Colin Konicek and Mancke had two hits apiece to pace Cornell. Beals drove in two runs. Rose tripled and had one RBI.
Earlier in the weekend, Cornell was limited to four singles over seven innings and dropped an 11-0 baseball decision to Ripon.
Cornell had one baserunner reach past first base in the game. Ryan Rader drew a two-out walk in the top of the second and advanced to second on a single by Colin Konicek before the scoring threat ended.
Kale Rose, Seth Beals and James Kent also had one hit apiece for the Rams, who trailed 5-0 through two innings.
The Rams used five pitchers. Cody Zahn worked a 1-2-3 sixth inning.
Earlier in the week, the Rams took a 5-3 win over Beloit.
The Rams claimed the series win over Beloit, 2-1, and joined a major log jam with five teams battling for the final two spots to the MWC Tournament going into the final weekend of the regular season.
Miller (1-5) strengthened Cornell’s postseason chances with a fine six-inning outing against the Buccaneers (15-21 overall). The junior left-hander yielded five hits and two runs, both unearned. Miller struck out six batters and left with a 3-2 lead.
Drew Logel’s sacrifice fly plated an important insurance run in the seventh. Colin Konicek had an RBI single in the eighth that put Cornell ahead 5-3.
Chad Dzierba tossed two scoreless innings to earn his first save of the spring. He struck out two and did not allow a hit. Beloit had two runners on with one out in the bottom of the ninth when Dzierba induced a game-ending double play.
Cornell’s balanced lineup received two hits apiece from James Kent, Josiah Shaw, Sam Williamson and Konicek. Logel drove in two runs, recording his seventh multi-RBI game of the season.
Mancke tripled to extend his hitting streak to eight games.