The baseball team was winless on the road in a pair of doubleheaders against Cornell and Princeton this past weekend. The Big Red swept the Bears 6-1 and 4-1, and the Tigers earned two 3-1 victories.
In the opening game of the doubleheader against Cornell (15-7, Ivy 3-1), the Bears (2-15, 0-4) trailed early as the Big Red scored four runs in the first inning. Bruno scored its first run of the game in the third inning when Cody Slaughter ’13 drove in J.J. Franco ’14 with an RBI single. Slaughter was consistent at the plate over the weekend, accumulating five hits in 12 at-bats.
“His performance has been solid,” said Head Coach Marek Drabinski. “We could trust him and count on him for big hits.”
Cornell scored two more runs in the sixth, building a five-run advantage. Cornell’s starting pitcher Nick Busto limited Bruno’s faltering offense — scattering six hits over seven innings, while only surrendering one run.
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Bears’ starting pitcher Dave St. Lawrence ’15 kept the game within reach, giving up four runs with eight hits in just over seven innings. Similar to the first game, the Big Red scored first, this time with a run in the second inning. In the top of the fourth, Daniel Massey ’14 drove in Will Marcal ’15, evening the score at 1-1. Cornell then scored a run in the bottom of the fourth, taking the lead back 2-1. Despite the strong pitching, Cornell added on two more runs and finished the game with a 4-1 lead.
“We need to hit higher than .167 to win any games,” Drabinski said. “You cannot expect to throw a shut-out every game.”
Early in Sunday’s first game, the Tigers (5-17, 3-1) took a 1-0 lead with a loaded bases walk in the second inning. In the sixth inning, Bruno tied the game up at 1-1 with a sacrifice fly from Massey, driving in Matt DeRenzi ’14. The Tigers quickly fought back, tacking on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth and taking a 3-1 lead. Princeton’s starting pitcher Mike Ford was able to work with his team’s comfortable lead, giving up only one run and five hits in seven innings.
Princeton took another early lead in the second game of the day as the Tigers scored a pair of runs in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. Bruno’s only run of the game came in the seventh when DeRenzi scored on a sacrifice fly from Wes Van Boom ’14. The Tigers’ starting pitcher Kevin Link pitched the entire nine innings, allowing only three hits and one run.
“We need to start hitting — we need guys to step up and hit like they have hit in the past,” Drabinksi said. “We’ll work on it, that’s for sure.”
The Bears play their first home game of the season today against Bryant University at 4 p.m. and then travel to Siena College for a doubleheader on Wednesday. Ivy League play will continue this weekend at home in a pair of doubleheaders against Penn and Columbia.
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