ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell baseball team will look to build momentum with a doubleheader on Tuesday against Siena at Hoy Field in Ithaca, N.Y. The Big Red, which is coming off a sweep of a doubleheader on Sunday at Penn, will be looking to move closer to the .500 mark on the season, entering the day with a 10-16 overall record.

The Big Red enters the week five games behind division-leading Columbia, who Cornell will face in a four-game series this weekend at Hoy Field. Cornell is tied for third in the division with Princeton at 4-8, with Columbia in first at 9-3 and Penn second at 6-6, three games behind the Lions.

Cornell's weekend against Penn last weekend was a true tale of two days, as the Saturday doubleheader was disastrous for the Big Red, but Cornell rebounded on Sunday to salvage the series split. On Saturday, Cornell dropped both contests by 17-2 and 12-2 margins, with Corey Pappel and Matt Hill taking the loss in each game. On Sunday, Cornell withstood a seven-run sixth from the Quakers to take game one, 10-9, in nine innings, before claiming an 11-6 victory in game two. Kyle Groth had a strong weekend at the plate, going 4-for-11 with three runs scored, two home runs and five RBI. Brenton Peters also drove in five while scoring four, and Brian Billigen scored four times and drove in four runs. David Rochefort took the win in the opener on Sunday, with Taylor Wood getting the victory in game two.

Cornell's victories on Sunday marked just the second and third times this season that the Big Red claimed a true road victory, as the Big Red is now just 3-12 in road games. Cornell's only other road victory this season came at Army on March 27, a 10-4 win. Additionally, the Big Red's victory in game one of the doubleheader on Sunday marked the first time this season that Cornell won an extra-inning contest, going 1-2 on the year when going longer than the scheduled length.

As a team, the Big Red offense is batting .280 on the season with four regular players batting better than .300. Mickey Brodsky leads the way with his .372 average, followed by Brandon Lee (.328), Frank Hager (.316) and Brian Billigen (.312). Brenton Peters is 12 at-bats shy of the minimum, but is hitting .425 in just 16 games this season. Brodsky leads the team with 16 runs scored, with Hager second with 15 runs and Billigen scoring 14 times. Billigen also has 20 runs batted in, followed by Hager's 19. Kyle Groth has five home runs to lead the Big Red in that category, with Billigen and Nate David both posting a trio of homers on the year. David also leads the Big Red in stolen bases, going a perfect 6-for-6 on the season.

On the mound, the Big Red has a 6.99 earned-run average, with Tony Bertucci's 2.93 mark the tops among all starters. Bertucci is one of four pitchers (David Rochefort, Corey Pappel, Taylor Wood) to have a pair of victories this season. Pappel has a team-best 36 strikeouts in 33.1 innings of work, while Wood has worked a team-high 34.1 innings this season, striking out 18 and walking nine. Matt Hill and Mike Carroll own the two other victories for the Big Red this season. Out of the bullpen, Rochefort has been nearly unhittable as the team's closer, posting a 0.54 earned-run average in 16.2 innings of work. Opposing batters are hitting just .125 against him this season, as he has allowed one earned run and struck out 15 in 12 appearances.

The Big Red's opponent on Tuesday will be Siena, who enters the day with a 14-21 overall record and a 3-6 mark in MAAC play. Siena defeated Canisius on Sunday to snap a six-game losing streak that stretched back to April 10. The Saints are led offensively by Kevin Quaranto, who has a .399 batting average and has a team-best 34 runs scored. Quaranto is one of three players hitting better than .300 on the season, with Anthony Giantanti (.327) and Dan Paolini (.316) hitting over that mark. The Saints as a team are batting .291 on the year. Paolini leads the team with 13 home runs, while Giansanti leads the team with 29 runs batted in.

For the Saints pitching staff, Zach Hartman leads the staff among regular starters with a 6.59 earned-run average, with reliever Ryan Poplawski leading the team with four wins and a 5.54 earned-run average in 15 appearances. Robert Tedesco has a team-best 28 strikeouts in 41 innings of work to go along with a 3-3 record and a 7.46 earned-run average. Siena pitchers have combined for a 6.78 earned-run average on the year.

Cornell returns to action on Saturday with a critical series against Columbia at Hoy Field. Cornell will need a sweep of the four-game set against the Lions to have any hope of repeating as Ivy League Gehrig Division champions. First pitch of game one of the doubleheader both days is slated for 12 p.m.

Short Hops
- Junior Mickey Brodsky has garnered enough at-bats to qualify for Cornell's career leaders offensively, and currently ranks tied for ninth all-time in batting average. Brodsky, a career .333 hitter, has 118 hits in 354 at-bats over two and a half seasons with the Big Red. Erik Rico (1999-2002) holds the career record with a .362 batting average.
- Brodsky has also been exceptional at drawing walks during his career, and his on-base percentage reflects that. Brodsky ranks sixth all-time in on-base percentage (.443). John Kresho (1988-91) has a .498 on-base percentage to lead that category.
- Tony Bertucci has also made an appearance in the Big Red's all-time leaders in career walks allowed per nine innings. The senior has only average 2.19 walks per nine innings, ranking him sixth in program history.
- Similarly, junior Corey Pappel ranks seventh all-time in most strikeouts per nine innings, averaging 8.75 strikeouts for a complete game.
- David Rochefort is quickly approaching the all-time record for appearances, entering the week third all-time with 49 appearances. The all-time career saves leader with 11, Rochefort needs just five more appearances John O'Connor, who made 54 appearances from 1985-88.