LEWISBURG, Pa. – Senior Brian McAfee tossed another gem Saturday, working six scoreless innings to power the baseball team to a 3-0 victory over Bucknell in the opening game of a doubleheader at Depew Field. The Big Red would later drop the shortened night cap, 2-1, in six innings.
 
Game 1: CORNELL 3, BUCKNELL 0 (Box Score)
Sophomore Jamie Smith, senior Dan Morris and freshman Dale Wickham drove in three runs for Cornell (3-8), and McAfee stranded two runners in scoring position in the sixth by inducing an inning-ending popout to earn the victory. Sophomore Paul Balestrieri then recorded the save by setting down Bucknell (9-7), the reigning Patriot League champion, in the seventh.
 
Senior Kevin Tatum was 2-for-3, marking the fourth time in the last five games that he had multiple hits. He hit a double into the gap in the second inning, then scored with two out on Smith's single through the right side to give Cornell a 1-0 lead. Junior Jordan Winawer then led off the third with a walk and hustled around to score on Morris' double to left. Senior Spencer Scorza scored the final run on Wickham's fielder's choice with the bases loaded in the sixth.
 
The Bison's only extra-base hit came with one out in the first on an Anthony Gingerelli double. While the Big Red was building its lead, McAfee set down 10 straight from the second to fifth innings.
 
McAfee's strong start comes on the heels of two other impressive outings, which vaulted him onto the scene as one of the best professional prospects in the Ivy League this season. He earned the win against Bowling Green last Saturday, surrendering one run in six innings, and silenced nationally-ranked Virginia for seven innings two weeks before that.
 
Game 2: BUCKNELL 2, CORNELL 1 (Box Score)
The Big Red jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. Sophomore Tommy Wagner drew a one-out walk, then moved up to second on senior Ryan Karl's single to right. Tatum then drove in Wagner with a two-out single to right, and Cornell staked senior starter Kellen Urbon to a 1-0 lead.
 
Urbon was solid in his five-inning complete game, surrendering two runs on five hits while striking out two. But only one of those runs was earned, with the Bison's tying run in the second coming after a two-out throwing error on the infield. A run-scoring double followed, and the game was tied.
 
Bucknell scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the fifth after a leadoff single, a balk, and a run-scoring double by Gingerelli. Urbon did well to work out of the jam without further damage, getting the final two outs with runners in scoring position. But after Cornell was set down 1-2-3 in the top of the six, the game was called due to darkness.
 
The teams are scheduled to conclude the series with a doubleheader beginning at noon Sunday.