ITHACA, N.Y. – Binghamton rallied late to send Wednesday's afternoon's non-conference softball game into extra innings and took its first lead of the night in the 11th inning, only to give that run back in the bottom of the frame. It didn't make the same mistake in the 12th.
The Bearcats plated two runs in the top of the 12th inning and quickly set down Cornell's side in the home-half to take a 4-2 pitcher's duel victory over the Big Red at Niemand*Robison Field. Binghamton improved to 6-11, while Cornell slipped to 7-10 on the year.
Cornell's pitching was outstanding, with Maddie Orcutt pitching four scoreless, four-hit innings before giving way to Katie Lew. Lew took the hard-luck loss, scattering nine hits over the final eight innings and surrendering just two earned runs while striking out five. She didn't issue a walk in the 37 batters she faced.
Sophomore Erin Rockstroh stayed red-hot at the plate, going 4-for-4 with two walks, a run scored and an RBI for an offense that collected 11 hits. Megan Murray, Kate Jencarelli and Olivia Lam each had a pair of hits in the loss.
Binghamton used four different pitchers to keep Cornell at bay, stranding 16 total Big Red baserunners. Rozlyn Price took the win after allowing just one run and four hits over the final six innings. Chelsea Cooper surrendered just one hit over 2.2 innings of work prior to Price taking the circle.
Jill Bovitt, who entered the game with one hit on the season, went 4-for-6, and Kate Richard had the big blow with a solo home run to open the 12th frame as the Bearcats won their fourth straight in the series against the Big Red.
Cornell got on the board first in the second inning after singles by Rockstroh and Lam. Two batters later, Zoe Hernandez's groundout scored Rockstroh from third for a 1-0 lead.
It stayed that way until the sixth when the Bearcats used some two-out magic. An error, a wild pitch and a single plated the tying run.
An intentional walk after a Binghamton error and a Rebecca Kubena single loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, but the visitors turned a double play to keep the contest going.
The Bearcats scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th by taking advantage of two Big Red errors, eventually taking a 2-1 lead on a sacrifice fly. Cornell was able to answer back. Rockstroh, who led off five different innings by reaching base, plated the tying run in the 11th to keep the game going, with her two-out, bases-loaded comebacker bounced off the pitcher's glove for an infield hit.
After Richard belted her fourth homer of the season to straightaway center to lead off the 12th, the Bearcats used a hit batter, a wild pitch, a groundout and a double to plate an insurance run. It wouldn't be needed, as Price retired Cornell 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning to end the nearly three-hour contest.
Cornell returns to action when it visits Yale for a doubleheader on Saturday, March 31 at 12:30 p.m.
