UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Freshman Kalani Matton hit his first collegiate home run, junior Will Simoneit drove in three runs, and senior Ellis Bitar scored three runs despite not having a hit to highlight the baseball team's bizarre 10-6 victory over Penn State on Wednesday night at Medlar Field.
 
Cornell (3-9) never trailed in a back-and-forth marathon affair that last nearly three and a half hours before the umpires called it off in the top of the eighth inning after consecutive fly balls landed in the outfield after being lost by defenders in thickening fog. It marked just the second time the Big Red has defeated the Nittany Lions in 25 meetings between the teams in University Park.
 
Both teams issued 10 walks and the Big Red also committed three errors, but Cornell was able to minimize the damage thanks to three pickoffs. The team also stole five bases on the night after having swiped just seven over the first 11 games of its season.
 
Matton got it started in the top of the second by pulling a ball down the line in left that hit the foul pole. After Penn State briefly drew even, Simoneit's sacrifice fly in the third send Bitar – who drew two walks and was hit by pitches twice – sliding into home to restore Cornell's lead.
 
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Penn State (7-12) scored twice to cut its deficit to 6-5 with loaded the bases and one out. But a perfectly executed back pick between Bitar at catcher and Simoneit at third erased the runner at third, then a grounder and unassisted putout at third by Simoneit quashed the threat.
 
Cornell then extended the lead in the top of the sixth with Simoneit's two-run single to center. Penn State quickly threatened again with the first two batters reaching base to bring the tying run to the plate, but sophomore Colby Wyatt induced a flyout to shallow left and got a pair of swinging strikeouts. He yielded just an unearned run while fanning three over two innings to earn his first collegiate save. Sophomore Jeb Bemiss earned the victory.
 
Senior Ryan Krainz led off the game with a single to extend his hitting streak to eight games. He's also reached base in 10 straight, while senior Dale Wickham's double in the truncated eighth inning extended his reached-base streak to nine games.
 
Up next for Cornell is the start of Ivy League play, which features a three-game series at Princeton. The teams meet for a doubleheader at 11:30 a.m. Saturday in the Garden State, following by the finale at 1 p.m. Sunday.