CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Senior Conor McCabe hit a two-run double to score the go-ahead runs for the baseball team in a 3-1 victory over Harvard on Saturday afternoon. The Crimson fought back for a 10-7 win in the second game, leaving the Big Red in a four-way tie for the Lou Gehrig Division lead heading into Sunday's doubleheader at Red Rolfe Division-leading Dartmouth.
 
Game 1 – Cornell 3, Harvard 1 – Box Score
Sophomore Nick Busto turned in a complete game while surrendering just one run for a straight outing after he led the Big Red to a 6-1 victory over Brown in the teams' Ivy League opener last weekend. The lone Harvard run came in the third inning on a sacrifice fly, tying the game at 1.
 
Brenton Peters scored the game's first run in the top of the third. He drew a leadoff walk, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by JD Whetsel. Sophomore Matt Hall followed with a double to left, scoring Peters to give the Big Red a 1-0 lead.
 
After Harvard tied the game in the bottom half of the third, Cornell stormed ahead for good in the top of the fourth. Tom D'Alessandro hit a one-out double down the line in right, then junior Ben Swinford was hit by a pitch to put two runners on. McCabe then delivered the big hit, smacking a double to left to score both runners and give the Big Red a 3-1 lead.
 
Busto didn't allow any runners to advance past second base after the Crimson scored its run, scattering five hits while walking a pair. He fanned seven, tying a season high, striking out the side in the second inning. He got some help in the sixth inning when Tanner Anderson hit a one-out double, but the threat ended when Carlton Bailey lined out to center fielder JD Whetsel and doubled off Anderson at second. Harvard then brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh after leadoff hitter Mike Martin reached on an error, but Busto induced a game-ending lineout to shortstop D'Alessandro.
 
Game 2 – Harvard 10, Cornell 7 – Box Score
Cornell pitchers were able to strand 15 Harvard runners on base, but the Crimson finally broke through for seven runs in the seventh inning to rally past the Big Red to earn the split. Peters was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs, and junior Chris Cruz hit a two-run home run in the third inning.
 
Cornell took a 5-3 lead in the fourth inning. Kevin Tatum hit a one-out double, then Colin McGee walked. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch, then Peters plated Tatum with an infield single. The Big Red later loaded the bases with two outs, and Cruz drove in another run in unlikely fashion when he was hit by a pitch.
 
The Big Red went back to work in the fifth, extending its lead to four runs, 7-3. D'Alessandro led off with a walk, followed by McCabe's single up the middle. Both runners moved up a base with the inning's first two outs, then scored on Peters' double to left-center.
 
Harvard's big seventh inning was set up by three walks. Two one-run singles followed, cutting the hosts' deficit to two runs, then reliever Eric Upton got the inning's out by striking out Anderson. Another single scored the Crimson's sixth run, then the tying run came home on an error. DJ Link's two-run single pulled the Crimson ahead, then it tacked on another insurance run on another defensive error. Cornell pushed its leadoff hitter to second base in both the eighth and ninth innings, but could not draw any closer.
 
The Big Red is back in action at noon Sunday in a unique doubleheader at Dartmouth. The order of the doubleheader will be reversed to accommodate a national television broadcast on Fox College Sports Pacific. The first game will be scheduled for nine innings, and the second game will be a seven-inning affair beginning approximately 30 minutes after the completion of the opener.