RICHMOND, Va. – Sophomore Nicholas Binnie hit a three-run double to give the baseball team an early lead in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, but VCU stormed back with six runs in the third inning to complete the sweep. The Rams won the first game, 2-0, before securing a 9-3 victory in the second at The Diamond.
 
Cornell (0-6) mustered just three hits on the day against the pitchers from VCU (8-3). The Big Red returns to action next weekend with a three-game series at Navy.
 

GAME 1: VCU 2, Cornell 0 (Box Score)

Junior Colby Wyatt was terrific in his first weekend start in the collegiate ranks, yielding just one run in the second of five innings.
 
Cornell couldn't get much going offensively. As the second batter of the game, sophomore Kalani Matton hit a single to left field – and it turned out to be the Big Red's only hit and baserunner of the game.
 
The Rams tacked on their insurance run after Wyatt's departure in the sixth. A one-out single and double put two in scoring position, and VCU pushed its lead to 2-0 on a sacrifice fly.
 
Freshman Jonathan Zacharias yielded just the one run in 2.1 innings of relief work before freshman Niko Lillios got the final two outs.
 

GAME 2: VCU 9, Cornell 3 (Box Score)

The Rams struck first when a runner from third scampered home on a putout at first following a strikeout – but the Big Red countered immediately.
 
Freshman Austin Flematti, senior Josh Arndy and junior Matt Collins drew consecutive one-out walks to load the bases. That brought up sophomore Nicholas Binnie, who emptied the bases with a double into the gap in right-center.
 
The Rams took the lead for good with a big third inning before the Big Red bullpen settled in. Juniors Jeb Bemiss and John Natoli yielded just two runs in 5.2 innings of combined relief work.
 
Matton had the Big Red's second hit of the day with a ninth-inning double.