By: Trailing 5-0 going into the bottom of the ninth in Saturday’s opening game, the Blueboys rallied to send the game to extras and then came back again to win it in the 10th inning.
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JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College baseball team rallied from a five-run deficit and defeated Cornell College, 7-6, in 10 innings to open the four-game series against the Rams on Saturday. Cornell came back for a 9-3 win in the second game of the day. The Blueboys are now 4-14 (1-5 Midwest Conference) on the season.
The two sides conclude the series with a doubleheader tomorrow at Joe Brooks Field beginning at 10 a.m.
Game One: Illinois College 7, Cornell 6 (10 innings)
For most of the opener between IC and Cornell, it seemed that missed opportunities by the Blueboys and great defense by the Rams would be the story. Things all changed in the bottom of the ninth as Illinois College rallied for five runs to send the game into extra innings, then came back once more, scoring twice in the bottom of the 10th to make up for Cornell's go-ahead run in the top of the frame.
The Cornell defense started strong early, robbing
Tim Sommerfeld of a would-be single on IC's first at-bat of the game. The Rams took the lead on Blueboy starting pitcher
Dylan Jones in the top of the second on an unearned run when Josh Dimmitt doubled down the right field line to score John Tesensky.
The Rams continued to pepper Illinois College with runs, scoring once in the third, fifth, sixth and ninth innings as well, taking a commanding 5-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth.
Up to that point in the game, the biggest threat the Illinois College offense had managed came in the seventh inning when the Blueboys loaded the bases, only to see Walker Breard rob
Austin Gusewelle of extra bases with a diving stop at first base to end the inning. To lead off the ninth,
Taw Fredrickson finally broke open the scoring for IC with a solo shot – his team-leading fourth of the season – to make it 5-1.
Anthony Lucchesi followed Fredrickson with a one-out single and
Alex Lilly doubled, ending the day of Cornell starting pitcher Eric Daubach. The Cornell relievers struggled with their command however, issuing multiple walks that helped the Blueboys rally. Sommerfeld was walked by Duncan Villhauer to load the bases with one away, but a fielder's choice got the second out and things still seemed to be under control for the Rams.
A patient
Dalton Kerans coerced a walk from Villhauer to bring another run home and
Alec Wade wasted no time in following with a single to left to make it 5-3. A rattled Villhauer then walked
Brendan Stanfield, making it 5-4 and putting the tying run just 90 feet away. Cornell went to the bullpen again, but another walk followed against Fredrickson, tying the game at 5-5 before the Blueboys grounded out to end the inning.
Back-to-back two-out doubles by Cornell re-established a lead for the visitors at 6-5 in the top of the 10th inning. Cornell's Tyler Samson then got Lucchesi looking for the first out of the 10th before walking Lilly and hitting Sommerfeld with a pitch.
Mason Durdel then smartly laid down a perfect bunt with the defense playing back to load the bags again with one away. A Kerans single to right field brought the tying run home, but was too shallow to allow the winning run in. The wait wouldn't last long however, as
Eli Fox singled between shortstop and third base to score Sommerfeld and set off a stampede out of the IC dugout.
Dentler Loschen got the win to move to 1-2 on the season. Wade was 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles and a walk. Lucchesi went 3-for-5 in the win for the Blueboys.
Game Two: Cornell 9, Illinois College 3
The momentum didn't carry over to the second game for Illinois College. Scoreless for the first three innings, Cornell took the lead in the fourth inning and went up 4-0 before IC put three on the board in the bottom of the eighth. Just when it looked like it was setting up for another dramatic ninth inning, a pair of home runs from the Rams plated five runs in the top of the ninth to put the game away.
Two singles and a double pushed two runs across for Cornell in the fourth inning against IC starter
Tyler Kozaritz. Kozaritz continued into the seventh inning, though the Rams were able to get one more run against him in the sixth inning.
Dalton Leischner replaced Kozaritz in the seventh inning and got out of a bases-loaded jam before allowing a run of his own in the top of the eighth to make it 4-0.
In the bottom of the eighth, Wade led off with a single and an error by the Cornell shortstop put Wade and Kerans on with no outs in the inning. After a fielder's choice got Wade at third for the first out,
Connor Melton singled past the shortstop to get the first run in. Lucchesi was then hit by a pitch to load the bases and Durdel singled to the shortstop again to make it 4-2. With the bases still loaded, Lilly just missed on a long fly ball to left field, scoring Melton and leaving two runners in scoring position. The Rams got a big out to end the inning however, getting Sommerfeld to pop up to the pitcher to leave the visitors in front, 4-3.
After a pair of groundouts back to reliever
Jared Guizzetti, it was setting up for a 1-2-3 inning for the Blueboys until TJ Rausch singled to center field with two outs. Breard then came up and jacked a two-run homer to straightaway center for a 6-3 lead. Loschen relieved Guizzetti, but the Rams continued to hit and Alex Schwartz essentially sealed the game when he hit a three-run bomb over the fence in left field to make it 9-3. Illinois College loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth with one away, but the Rams got out of it without giving up a run.
Lilly ended the game with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate. Fredrickson was 3-for-5 in the contest.
