Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 ARLINGTON, Va. – Newcomer Ryan Karl hit his first home run before later driving in the go-ahead run in the first game, and senior Tom D'Alessandro was 4-for-4 with four RBIs and a program-record six stolen bases in the second game to spur the baseball team to a doubleheader sweep of George Washington on Sunday, 4-3 and 8-1, at Barcroft Park Field #6.
 
Junior Brian McAfee tossed a complete game in the opener and sophomore Michael Byrne threw six, two-hit innings of shutout ball to earn the win in the second game. The Big Red never trailed in either game and took the lead for good in the fifth inning of both contests.
 
Game 1: CORNELL 4, GEORGE WASHINGTON 3 (Box Score)
The Big Red scored one run in each of the first three innings, then staved off a Colonials rally with the winning run in the fifth.
 
Walks were the theme of the first two innings, with Cornell drawing six free passes to chase GW's starter. D'Alessandro drew a one-out walk, moved to second on Ryan Planter's walk, then advanced to third on a flyout to third. Junior Spencer Scorza came through with a two-out single to center to drive in D'Alessandro and spot the Big Red to an early 1-0 lead.
 
The second inning featured four consecutive walks before the first out, allowing freshman Jamie Smith – making his first collegiate start at catcher – to score the second run of the game. A fielder's choice and a double play allowed the Colonials to escape the frame without further damage, but Karl hit a two-out solo home run to right in the third inning to give the visiting Big Red a 3-0 lead.
 
After McAfee worked a pair of uneventful innings, but GW pieced together seven hits – three in the infield – over the next three innings. The game was tied at 3 after four before the Big Red scratched out the winning run in the fifth. Scorza was hit by a pitch with two out, then came around to score on Karl's double to left.
 
Game 2: CORNELL 8, GEORGE WASHINGTON 1 (Box Score)
The Big Red wreaked havoc on the base paths with nine stolen bases – six from D'Alessandro, two from junior JD Whetsel and another from Karl. D'Alessandro's six steals were the most in a single game in Big Red history, topping the old mark of four shared by five players (most recently Michael Macrie on April 12, 1997 at Harvard).
 
After four scoreless innings, Whetsel hit a one-out double and stole third in the fifth. D'Alessandro singled through the left side of the infield to plate Whetsel and give Cornell a 1-0 lead.
 
That lead ballooned to 5-0 after a four-run sixth. Karl led off with his second double of the day, advancing to third on an error. Scorza followed with a single up the box to score Karl, then Kevin Tatum's single through the right side of the infield gave the Big Red two baserunners. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners into scoring position, allowing D'Alessandro to drive them both in with a two-out single to center. D'Alessandro then stole second, which led to him scoring on Plantier's base hit.
 
Meanwhile, the Colonials mustered just one runner in scoring position against Byrne. The home side finally got on the board with a solo homer in the seventh, but it was one of just three hits surrendered by a Big Red pitching staff of Byrne, senior Connor Kaufmann and sophomore Matt Horton.
 
The Big Red returns to the Old Dominion State next weekend for a three-game series at James Madison.