With the Rams needing a win to even the series in Game 2 Saturday, junior right-hander Patrick Montagna delivered his best outing of the season, going the distance in an 8-2 Midwest Conference baseball victory over Knox at Blodgett Field.
Montagna helped Cornell bounce back from a 9-7 setback in Game 1, which saw a Ram rally end with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth.
Montagna (3-1) surrendered just two hits and struck out a season-high 10 batters over nine dominant innings on the hill. He faced only four batters over the minimum in his first complete game as a Ram.
Montagna gave up a two-out RBI single in the third and a two-out solo homer in the sixth. He issued three walks in the game.
Cornell scored six runs in its final two at-bats, unlocking a 2-2 game through seven innings. Kale Rose pushed the Rams ahead during a two-run eighth inning, lacing an RBI triple and then scoring on a wild pitch.
The Rams pulled away with four runs on six hits in the ninth.
Colin Whelan went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Seth Beals homered, doubled and scored three runs. The Rams also got two hits apiece from Darren Mancke, James Kent, Colin Konicek and Rose.
Cornell mounted a late comeback in Game 1, after trailing 9-5 going into the ninth. Whelan connected for a pinch-hit two-run homer – his first collegiate round-tripper – to bring the Rams within 9-7.
Earlier in the week, the Rams beat Coe 9-7 and Grinnell-11-2 and 7-3.
Against Coe, Cornell’s lineup plated seven of its runs with two outs and squashed a ninth-inning rally by rival Coe for a 9-7 Bremner Cup baseball victory Tuesday night at Ash Park Field.
The match marked the final competition of the 2022-23 Bremner Cup All-Sports Series, which Coe prevailed by an 8-7 margin.
Cornell collected 13 total hits, five of which came during a four-run seventh inning that broke a 5-5 tie. Leadoff man Darren Mancke, who extended his streak of reaching base safely to 18 games, had an RBI single that pushed the Rams ahead in the bottom of the seventh.
Vince Zipperer added a two-out RBI hit, followed by a two-run double to left from Drew Logel that gave the Rams a 9-5 lead.
Sophomore Kaleb Whaley tossed five innings in his first collegiate start, allowing four runs and striking out three. Freshman Carson King (1-0) pitched the sixth and seventh, holding the Kohawks to one run to earn his first victory as a Ram.
The Rams received two hits apiece from Mancke, Zipperer, Kale Rose, Lincoln Greasley and Colin Konicek. Zipperer, Logel and Greasley each finished with two RBIs.
Against Grinnell, Seth Beals blasted a two-run homer in the opener and accounted for four hits in Game 2 to guide Cornell to a pivotal 11-2, 7-3 Midwest Conference baseball sweep over Grinnell Thursday at Pioneer Park.
The Rams earned a 2-1 series win over Grinnell.
Game 1 picked up in the top of the fourth inning from the March 30 suspended contest with Grinnell leading 1-0. The Rams quickly set the tone for the day with a big six-run frame in their first at-bat, capped by a two-run homer from Beals, his third round-tripper of the season.
Cornell put the opener out of reach with four more runs in the eighth, thanks to a pair of two-RBI singles from Colin Konicek and Kale Rose.
Vince Zipperer, Darren Mancke, Konicek and Colin Gierula all recorded multi-hit games. Drew Logel, Zipperer and Gierula each doubled.
Winning pitcher Jake Schope (5-1) was tough over 5.1 innings in relief, scattering six hits while not allowing an earned run.
In Game 2, the Rams rode the right arm of senior ace Kole Hinrichsen, who logged all nine innings and struck out 11 for his second complete-game victory of the spring. Hinrichsen (4-1) faced only four batters over the minimum and did not issue a walk.
Trailing 3-2, the Rams rallied for five runs in the top of the eighth to take control. Rose singled in the tying run and Drew Logel brought home Zipperer with the go-ahead score. Konicek, Gierula and Mancke added RBIs in the inning to push the Rams ahead 7-3.