ITHACA, N.Y. — After a successful start to Ivy League earlier this week, the baseball team will wrap up the interdivision portion of the league schedule this weekend with noon doubleheaders Saturday at Dartmouth and Sunday at Harvard. All four games will be broadcast on the Ivy League Digital Network.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Cornell at Dartmouth
DATE: Saturday, April 4, 2015
TIME: First game at noon, second game approximately 30 minutes following completion of the first game
RECORDS: Cornell 6-14, 3-1 Ivy; Dartmouth 4-16, 2-2 Ivy
SERIES RECORD: Dartmouth leads, 90-78-1
LAST MEETING: Teams split two games March 29, 2014 in Ithaca, N.Y. (Cornell 3-2; Dartmouth 5-4 in 11 innings).
SITE: Red Rolfe Field; Hanover, N.H.
VIDEO: Ivy League Digital Network
LIVE STATS: DartmouthSports.com
 
Cornell at Harvard
DATE: Sunday, April 5, 2015
TIME: First game at noon, second game approximately 30 minutes following completion of the first game
RECORDS*: Cornell 6-14, 3-1 Ivy; Harvard 11-12, 0-4 Ivy
SERIES RECORD: Harvard leads, 103-47
LAST MEETING: Teams split a doubleheader on April 1, 2014 in Ithaca, N.Y. (Harvard 5-4 in 10 innings; Cornell 6-2)
SITE: O'Donnell Field; Cambridge, Mass.
VIDEO: Ivy League Digital Network
LIVE STATS (Game 1): GoCrimson.com
LIVE STATS (Game 2): GoCrimson.com
 (* — does not include Saturday's results)
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell opened Ivy League play with three victories in four games against Yale and Brown on Sunday and Monday. The Big Red trailed in all four games, but pieced together some impressive rallies — particularly in Monday's split against Brown. The day before in the team's home opener against Yale, Cornell scored 10 unanswered runs in the first game — a 10-1 win — and plated four in the seventh inning of the nightcap for a 7-5 win. The Big Red then found itself in five-run holes twice against Brown, very nearly coming all the way back both times. Cornell suffered a 5-4 loss in the opener, but scored seven runs in the eighth of the second game for a 10-6 victory. … Playing six games in four days with this weekend's Ivy games on the horizon, the Big Red used a piecemeal pitching staff in a 23-7 loss to Richmond on Tuesday and a 11-5 loss to Towson on Wednesday. Five pitchers were making their first appearance of the season on the mound, three of which were making their collegiate pitching debut, and two are primarily position players. … Senior RHP Brian McAfee (3-1, 1.16) tossed a complete-game gem in last Sunday's first game against Yale. The only run he surrendered in seven innings was on a misplayed fly ball that ended up being an inside-the-park home run. McAfee struck out seven, tying a season high. … Senior 2B/3B Kevin Tatum has a nine-game hitting streak, which has helped him ascend to a .343 batting average and a team-high 16 RBIs. Only senior 2B/OF Dan Morris has a better average (.356) among regulars, and his 10 doubles are more than twice as many as anyone else on the team has provided. He also has a seven-game hitting streak, and — as of Monday — he ranked sixth in the country in doubles per game (0.5). … Cornell's team batting average has shot up 24 points to .244 in the last week. The Big Red had just 47 runs its first 14 games (3.36/game), but then scored 31 in its first four Ivy games (7.75/game). … Cornell's pitching continues to be a strength. The team had a 2.98 ERA before the midweek games at Richmond and Towson.
 
THE HEAD COACH
In his seventh season as the Ted Thoren Head Coach of Baseball at Cornell University, Bill Walkenbach has brought the Big Red into the spotlight in 2012 with the program's first league title since 1977 and its first Ivy League title since the circuit added baseball 20 years prior. Named head coach on Aug. 14, 2008, Walkenbach is in his second stint as a coach for the Big Red, having previously served as an assistant coach under current associate head coach Tom Ford from 2003-05. He returned to Cornell after spending three seasons as the head coach at Franklin & Marshall, guiding the Diplomats to an NCAA tournament berth in 2006 and a 69-42 record. Now in his eighth season as a collegiate head coach, Walkenbach has a career record of 192-184-1 (.511).

ON THE CUSP
Underlying Cornell's 6-14 overall record is a 1-9 record in games decided by one run. Before the midweek games at Richmond and Towson, Cornell had an ERA of nearly a full run lower than its opposition, despite sitting six games under .500. The Big Red yielded 30 unearned runs in its first 18 games.
 
MAC IS BACK
Senior RHP Brian McAfee (3-1, 1.16) has made a huge impact in his return after missing nearly all of last season with an injury. In front of several professional scouts in a March 1 game against No. 1-ranked Virginia in Myrtle Beach, S.C., McAfee tossed seven scoreless innings without issuing any walks. No Virginia runners advanced past second base, and McAfee was fittingly named the Ivy League Pitcher of the Week for his effort. He has issued no walks in four of his five starts this year. As of Monday, he ranked sixth in the country in walks allowed per nine innings (0.58), 10th in WHIP (0.77), 18th in ERA (1.16) and 33rd in strikeout-to-walk ratio (11.00).
 
BYRNE NOTICE
Junior LHP Michael Byrne (0-4, 4.63) had a career-high 11 strikeouts in a March 22 game at Bucknell. He set down the Bison 1-2-3 in five of his six innings and became the first Big Red pitcher to record 11 strikeouts since Corey Pappel on April 29, 2009 in a divisional playoff game against Princeton. He was also the first Big Red pitcher to reach double-digits in strikeouts since senior Brian McAfee's career-high 10 Ks on March 11, 2012 at George Washington. Byrne, a two-time All-Ivy League Second Team honoree, led the team with a 1.86 ERA and 49 strikeouts last season.
 
URBON LEGEND
Senior RHP Kellen Urbon made quite a statement in his 21 appearances as a freshman. He set a program record with nine saves, and his miniscule 0.47 earned-run average was the lowest ever recorded by a Cornell pitcher who had seen more than 30 innings of action. Not surprisingly, he has reeled in countless awards and honors as a result. Urbon was a unanimous selection as a first-team relief pitcher and was also named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year — the first time a Cornellian has taken the award since head coach Bill Walkenbach did it himself in 1995. He was also a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and a National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's Preseason All-America Third Team selection in December. Urbon missed the bulk of the 2013 season due to injury, then made seven appearances last season. Urbon is 0-2 through five starts this season with a 1.85 ERA.
 
ABOUT DARTMOUTH
The Big Green started its season with a challenging schedule, and has rebounded with three wins over its last five games. After topping Cal Poly to wrap up a nine-game California trip, Dartmouth split a pair of Ivy League doubleheaders last weekend against Columbia and Penn. Mike Concato surrendered four runs in a complete-game 5-4 victory over the Lions before the home side won the second game, 4-1. The Big Green then rallied to tie the first game at Penn with two runs in the top of the seventh, only to surrender the unearned winning run with one out in the bottom of the frame in a 4-3 loss. Dartmouth put together a late rally again in the second game, scoring three runs in the top of the ninth to earn a 4-3 victory. … Senior SS Matt Parisi leads the team with a .346 batting average and 12 runs scored. Junior CF Nick Ruppert is batting .323 with a pair of triples, and sophomore LF Ben Socher is batting .306  with a team-high three stolen bases. … RHP Sophomore RHPs Mike Concato (1-2, 4.29) and Jackson Bubala (0-0, 2.25) are the Big Green's probable starters against the Big Red. Sophomore RHP Chris Burkholder (0-3, 5.79) has a team-high six appearances out of the bullpen. The Big Green pitching staff's ERA is 5.79.
 
SERIES HISTORY vs. DARTMOUTH
The Big Red has split its two games with the Big Green in each of the last two seasons after winning four of five in 2012 — including the best-of-three Ivy League Championship series. Both games went down to the wire last season, with senior JD Whetsel driving in junior pinch runner Jordan Winawer for the winning run in the seventh inning of the opener to give the Big Red a 3-2 victory. The nightcap stretched out to 11 innings, with Dartmouth scoring the eventual winning run on a bang-bang play at the plate. Bill Walkenbach is 8-10 against the Big Green in his career as the Big Red's head coach.
 
ABOUT HARVARD
The Crimson is tied for the most victories among Ivy League teams heading into the weekend, though it was also the only Ancient Eight team to go 0-4 last weekend. Harvard was swept on a road trip to Columbia and Penn, losing the four games by a total of five runs before rebounding with a 5-3 victory over Holy Cross on Wednesday. Two of the Crimson's Ivy League losses came with winning runs in the final inning. … Senior C Ethan Ferreira leads the team with a .372 average, two triples and eight doubles, and he is also tied for the team lead with two home runs. Senior INF Jake McGuiggan also has two home runs to go with a .369 average and team-high 18 RBIs. Harvard has 31 stolen bases throughout 23 games, with senior OF Mike Martin providing 13 of them. … Sophomore RHP Nick Greuner (2-1, 6.15), senior RHP Tanner Anderson (0-2, 3.00), senior RHP Matt Timoney (3-1, 4.44) and junior RHP Sean Poppen (1-2, 7.16) were the Crimson's starters in last weekend's league games. … Junior RHP T.J. Laurisch (0-2, 5.93, 2 saves) has a team-high 11 relief appearances. Freshman RHP Ian Miller (0-2, 5.79) and junior LHP Sean O'Neill (0-1, 5.23) have also made nine trips from the bullpen.
 
SERIES HISTORY vs. HARVARD
The storied series between Cornell and Harvard began in 1887, with the Big Red suffering a season-ending 6-5 loss to the Crimson. Harvard has won 102 more meetings since to take a 103-47 lead in the all-time series, with the teams splitting the season series each of the last five seasons. In 2014, Harvard won the opener in 10 innings on a rare Tuesday doubleheader matinee. Cornell stormed back with a 6-2 victory in the nightcap, with senior Matt Hall going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Sophomore Paul Balestrieri worked three solid innings of relief, and senior Kellen Urbon closed out the game with a 1-2-3 ninth in a non-save situation. Bill Walkenbach is 5-7 against the Big Red in his career as the Big Red's head coach.
 
OPPORTUNISTIC WINAWER
Junior Jordan Winawer started the final 15 games at a corner outfield position for the Big Red – his first collegiate starts following an injury-washed 2013 season. To say Winawer made the most of his opportunity would be putting it lightly. He was the Big Red's best hitter over that stretch, leading the squad with a .436 batting average. For his efforts, he was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week on March 15, 2014. He also had an eight-game hitting streak in April and later earned All-Ivy League Honorable Mention.
 
LOOKING BACK
Cornell was 18-21 overall and 9-11 in Ivy League play for the 2014 season. Senior 1B/DH Ryan Karl was named an All-Ivy League First Team selection last year, which was his first with the Big Red since he transferred from Louisville (via Catawba Valley Community College). He led the team with a .280 average, nine home runs, 32 RBIs and a .552 slugging percentage. … Despite losing Brent Jones to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fourth round of the MLB Draft last summer, the Big Red returns an extremely strong pitching staff, which has posted a sub-4.00 earned-run average in each of the last three seasons. Junior LHP Michael Byrne (0-2, 2.89) is a two-time All-Ivy Second Team pick, with a 3-4 record, 1.86 ERA and team-high 49 strikeouts last season. Senior RHP Kellen Urbon (2012 First Team), senior RHP Brian McAfee (2012 Second Team) and senior LHP Zach McCulley (2013 Honorable Mention) are other former All-Ivy picks.
 
NOT FAR REMOVED FROM A LITTLE HISTORY
Cornell still has plenty of pieces in place from a special 2012 season. The Big Red went 31-17-1 to set a program record for victories, win the Ivy League title and advance to the NCAA Regionals. It was an extraordinary turnaround in just a year's time after the Big Red posted a 10-30 record in 2011. The team's 14-6 record in Ivy League play was also a program high in either the Ivy League or Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League. Not surprisingly, Cornell mopped up with 11 All-Ivy selections. Three are still on the team — Kellen Urbon (unanimous First Team selection; Ivy Rookie of the Year), Brian McAfee (Second Team) and Kevin Tatum (Honorable Mention).
 
UP NEXT
The Big Red returns home for its next five games, starting with a 4 p.m. Tuesday non-league game against regional rival Binghamton. Cornell then opens the Lou Gehrig Division portion of its Ivy League schedule with four games against Penn in the form of doubleheaders at noon on Saturday, April 11 and Sunday, April 12.