WEST POINT, N.Y. — Senior Will Simoneit went 5-for-5 with his second home run of the season, and junior Jeb Bemiss struck out a career-high eight batters through 5.2 scoreless innings in the baseball team's 4-1 victory over Army West Point on Wednesday afternoon at Doubleday Field.
 
Cornell (7-13) continued its offensive resurgence with a season-high 13 hits while quelling an offensive attack from Army West Point (15-13) that typically puts plenty of pressure on opposing batteries. The Big Red's four pitchers did issue a combined four walks, though the Black Knights entered the game averaging more than six per game. Army West Point also had 57 stolen bases in its first 27 games, but had none against Cornell on Wednesday.
 
After struggling for the first month of the season, the Big Red offense is now batting .284 with 19 doubles over its last seven games.
 
Simoneit's five-hit effort was a first for a Cornellian in nearly two years, with the last coming via Trey Baur '18 as part of a 27-13 victory over Towson on April 5, 2017. (That was also a memorable day for Simoneit, who hit a grand slam and finished the day with five RBI).
 
The Big Red took a lead in the first inning for its fourth consecutive game. With the bases loaded and one out, senior Josh Arndt plated classmate Adam Saks on an RBI groundout.
 
Bemiss made the lead stand up with the best outing of his collegiate career. He didn't yield a hit until the fourth inning when Anthony Giachin sent a ball toward the gap in left-center. But Saks motored over from his post in center field to cut it off, then fired to second base to cut down Giachin trying to stretch the hit into a double.
 
Simoneit then led off the top of the fifth with a long home run to left-center, well clear of the 370-foot sign adorning the wall in the gap.
 
Junior Matt Collins, who was 2-for-4 from the nine hole, hit a two-out double in the sixth. He then appeared to be picked off when the Black Knights' pitcher threw behind him as he took off for second base, but he got under the tag safely for the stolen base. When the count went full on Saks, Collins was in motion again. That pulled the third baseman toward the bag, and Saks pulled a base hit through the vacated hole to drive in Collins and push the lead to 3-0.
 
Saks finished the day 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a stolen base. Having taken a hold of the leadoff spot, the converted pitcher extended his hitting streak to seven games is now batting .400 in eight games since making his debut as a position player.
 
Simoneit led off the seventh with one of his four singles, then moved up to third on Arndt's fifth double in his last six games. Freshman Justin Taylor put a charge into the ball in the next at-bat, but it was flagged down in left-center – though it was plenty deep to allow Simoneit to tag up and score for a 4-0 lead.
 
Army West Point got its lone run on a Giachin solo home run in the seventh, but it would get no closer. Sophomore Trevor Daniel Davis worked a quiet eighth inning in his second straight day of scoreless relief work. The Black Knights got the tying run aboard in the ninth, but junior closer John Natoli struck out the side around a bad-luck bounce single and walk to earn his third save of the season.
 
Cornell returns home to play 10 of its next 14 games at Hoy Field in Ithaca, starting with an Ivy League series this weekend against Brown. The teams are scheduled for a doubleheader starting at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, followed by a single game at noon Sunday.