By: Illinois College put 20 runs on the scoreboard in two games but couldn’t keep up with a powerful Cornell lineup, losing 20-9 and 16-11.
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Box Score 2
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College baseball team scored plenty of runs on Sunday, unfortunately they just couldn't slow down Cornell College. Despite putting 20 runs on the board in two games, the Blueboys fell to the Rams 20-9 in seven innings in the opener, and 16-11 in the final game of the four-game series.
Illinois College finishes off a five-game home stand on April 11 with a 3 p.m. game against Blackburn College.
Game One: Cornell 20, Illinois College 9 (7 innings)
Illinois College led Cornell, 5-2, going into the bottom of the fourth inning before everything went south for the Blueboys. The Rams took the lead with six runs in the fourth inning, then added four more in the sixth for a 12-5 lead and ended the game by exploding for eight more in the bottom of the seventh after the Blueboys had pulled within three in the top half.
The first of many runs came in the top of the first as IC put two on the board.
Brendan Stanfield singled home
Taw Fredrickson and
Anthony Lucchesi scored
Alec Wade after Wade had doubled earlier in the inning. It was a good start for the Blueboys, but it was answered immediately as Walker Breard tied the game in the bottom of the first with a two-run blast.
Wade doubled again in the second inning, driving in
Mason Durdel and
Tim Sommerfeld for a 4-2 IC advantage. The lead was still two in the fourth inning when
Dalton Kerans singled into left field to bring
Alex Lilly home for a 5-2 cushion.
The game turned in the bottom of the fourth. First, Lucas Larson homered to left to make it 5-3. A single by Eric Daubach was misplayed and allowed another run to score, then Breard doubled to knot the score at 5-5. With two aboard, Cale Jamesson unloaded on a fly ball to center, clearing the fence and making it 8-5.
Breard homered for a second time to lead off the sixth inning, and that was followed by three singles and a walk to make it 11-5. A double steal added another run for Cornell and the lead grew to 12-5 going into the seventh.
The Blueboys showed some life in the seventh as Stanfield and Lucchesi reached to start the inning and Sommerfeld singled them home to make it 12-7. With two down in the frame, Lilly homered to left-center to cut the Cornell lead down to 12-9.
The game shifted suddenly in the bottom half of the inning. Cornell had two on and two outs when John Tesensky homered to right field to make it 15-9. Needing one out, the Blueboys couldn't stop the Ram bats and Larson added a two-run shot that upped the lead to 17-9. Following two more singles, Daubach homered to left to make it 20-9 and end the game early.
IC ended with 13 hits in the game. Wade was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, while Fredrickson, Lucchesi and Sommerfeld all had two hits apiece.
Ethan Crain fell to 0-2 on the season on the hill for the Blueboys.
Game Two: Cornell 16, Illinois College 11
In the final game of the series, Cornell scored in seven of its eight turns at the plate and fought off an Illinois College comeback to take three out of four contests from the Blueboys.
Dillon Hallemann fell to 1-4 with the loss.
An error at third by Cornell to start the game opened the door for Fredrickson to eventually come around to score on a fielder's choice grounder by Sommerfeld for a 1-0 Illinois College lead. With two in scoring position and two outs in the bottom half of the frame, Tesensky singled them both home and gave the Rams the lead.
The Blueboys equalized in the top of the second.
Eli Fox was walked to start the inning and he moved up a station on a sacrifice bunt and a deep fly to right. On third with two outs, a wild pitch allowed Fox to scamper home, tying it at 2-2. Cornell responded with a run by Larson in the bottom of the second on a RBI single by Daubach.
After IC failed to score in the top of the third, Cornell began to pull away, scoring thIree times in the bottom of the inning including a two-run Larson home run. In the bottom of the fourth, Breard hit a three-run home run and the Rams added two more runs in the inning to take an 11-2 lead on the Blueboys.
Illinois College began to show signs of life in the fifth inning. Wade,
Grant Argyilan and Stanfield all reached base with no outs in the inning. Kerans then connected on a grand slam to left field to make it 11-6. An Alex Schwartz solo shot in the sixth inning pushed Cornell's edge back to 12-6.
In the seventh inning, Lilly and Fredrickson drove runs home on RBI singles, pulling IC to within four runs at 12-8. Schwartz struck again for the Rams however, doubling to right-center with two down and scoring two more Cornell runs for a 14-8 advantage.
The Blueboys tacked on two more in the eighth. Zach Seymour singled home Stanfield and Lilly was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 14-10. Breard finished his hot day at the plate in the bottom half for the Rams, hitting a double to left-center for two more RBIs and a 16-10 lead.
Kerans produced one more run for Illinois College, singling home Wade with two outs in the ninth, but a lineout to the pitcher ended it with the Rams holding on for the five-run victory.
Fox was 2-for-3 at the dish with a pair of walks on the afternoon. Kerans ended 2-for-3 with five runs driven in.
