HANOVER, N.H. – The injury-riddled baseball team clawed its way to another Ivy League doubleheader split on Sunday, this time recording its first shutout in nearly two years to take one of two games against perennial contender Dartmouth at Red Rolfe Field.
 
Junior starter Tommy Morris delivered a nearly flawless six innings of work to spark the Big Red to a 2-0 victory in Sunday's opener. Dartmouth then used a five-hit burst in the first inning of the second game to ride out a 5-0 win.
 
In the final weekend of interdivision play in the Ivy League, the Big Red earned its third consecutive doubleheader split despite missing most of the top half of its lineup — two starting outfielders and its starting catcher. While Cornell (13-11) technically sits in last place in the Lou Gehrig Division at 3-5, it remains two games back and within striking distance as four-game divisional series begin next weekend. Princeton (9-18, 5-3) and Columbia (8-15, 4-2) are currently tied for the top spot — though the Lions play Red Rolfe Division-leading Yale in a Monday doubleheader, and Penn (14-13, 4-4) is just one game behind.
 
Cornell is next in action at 4 p.m. Wednesday against Binghamton at Hoy Field in Ithaca.
 
Game 1: CORNELL 2, DARTMOUTH 0 (Box Score)
Morris — making just his third appearance with the team after transferring in from Division III Kenyon — earned his first victory with the Big Red with six shutout innings, yielding just four hits. Two of those came in the form of singles in the sixth, but Morris induced a flyout on to escape the threat and complete his outing. Senior Peter Lannoo then navigated the seventh inning to earn his fifth save of the season and preserve Cornell's first team shutout since April 26, 2015 (vs. Princeton).
 
After a very quiet first three innings, sophomore Will Simoneit cranked a two-out home run to left-center field in the fourth inning. The ball carried the fence by about 15 feet and splashed the protective netting next to Park Street. It was the third home run of the season in just eight starts for Simoneit, who now carries a .690 slugging percentage.
 
Sophomore Josh Arndt then led off the fifth inning with a double that short-hopped the wall in right-center. Senior Frankie Padulo dropped down a bunt that resulted in Arndt getting trapped in a rundown, but he kept the play alive long enough to allow Padulo to move up to second base on the play.
 
Padulo moved up 90 more feet on a groundout to the right side, then senior Tommy Wagner gave the Big Red a little breathing room. On an 0-2 count with two out, Dartmouth's center fielder was shaded toward right — but Wagner jumped on the next pitch and drove it just out of reach near the warning track slightly left of center for a triple. That allowed Padulo to trot home, and Cornell enjoyed a 2-0 lead that lasted until the final out.
 
Game 2: DARTMOUTH 5, CORNELL 0 (Box Score)
The Big Green jumped ahead with three runs on five singles  in the first inning, and Jack Fossand held the Big Red to just one hit over seven frames.
 
Senior Cole Rutherford had Cornell's first of two hits in the game during the second inning, then Wagner had the other with a lead-off double in the ninth against a Dartmouth reliever.
 
Senior Paul Balestrieri was tagged with the loss, charged with four of the Big Green's five runs through six innings. Though he surrendered 10 hits, just one went for extra bases — a lead-off triple in the third that set up a two-run stanza to give Dartmouth a commanding five-run lead.
 
Freshman Jeb Bemiss worked a quiet two innings of scoreless relief.