ITHACA, N.Y. – Senior Dale Wickham drove in six runs and senior Kyle Gallagher had five of the baseball team's 27 hits on Sunday in a doubleheader split with Niagara at Hoy Field. The Big Red offense ignited for a 17-5 victory in the opener before the visitors used a late surge for a 7-4 win in the night cap.
 
Game 1: CORNELL 17, NIAGARA 5
Wickham hit a three-run double in the first inning, then a two-run single from junior Will Simoneit in the second inning opened the flood gates. In all, the Big Red scored 11 runs over the first four innings and forced the Purple Eagles to use five pitchers while working 10 walks to get through the nine innings.
 
Gallagher continued his torrid start, going 4-for-4 with a double and two walks while driving in four runs. He was one of three members of the Big Red to score three runs and one of five with multiple hits. Wickham, Simoneit, and seniors Ellis Bitar and Ryan Krainz had two hits apiece. Sophomore Kaleb Lepper added a two-run triple into the gap in right-center.
 
Staked with the early lead, senior Tim Willittes was very efficient to earn his first victory of the season. He induced plenty of groundouts and only issued one walk while fanning five in seven innings of work. Senior Austin Wahl and junior Adam Saks mopped up the final two frames.
 
Game 2: NIAGARA 7, CORNELL 4
The Purple Eagles broke a 4-all tie by pushing three runs across in the top of the eighth inning, then survived a late Big Red surge to salvage a split. The Big Red loaded the bases with one out in the ninth to bring the winning run to the plate, but a strikeout and groundout ended the threat.
 
After being routed in the opener, Niagara bounced back to plate three in the first inning. The visitors then threatened with two runners in scoring position with one out in the second – but sophomore Seth Urbon induced a swinging strikeout for the second out, then escaped the jam with a groundout.
 
Cornell began to chip away after Bitar's leadoff double down the third-base line in the fourth. He came in to score on Wickham's towering triple off the wall in right. Simoneit followed with  a sacrifice fly to center, bringing Wickham home to cut Cornell's deficit to 3-2.
 
Niagara briefly took a two-run lead after 9-hole hitter Julian Gallup golfed a solo home run in the sixth inning over the wall in left, but the Big Red answered back in the bottom half of the frame. Simoneit stroked a double down the line in left, then came home when junior Josh Arndt short-hopped the same wall in left for another double. With two out, freshman Ramon Garza hit a ball into the hole on the left side, but a lunging stop by the third baseman and a deft pick from the first baseman ended the threat.
 
The Big Red rebounded again when freshman Kalani Matton looped a one-out single to left, followed by another single over the shortstop by Krainz. The runners moved up on a wild pitch, then – after a strikeout for the second out – Gallagher cued a ball off the end of his bat that rolled foul up the first baseline only to curl back fair. The first baseman picked it up, but Gallagher avoided the tag and reached first safely to allow Matton to score the tying run.