RICHMOND, Va. — Seven unanswered runs scored by VCU over the first four innings aided the Rams to a 10-5 victory over the Cornell baseball team at The Diamond on Saturday afternoon.

AJ Mathis and Will Carlone each had two hits and two RBI to pace the Rams offense. Brandon Eike and Logan Amiss also had two-RBI days for VCU, who improved to 5-10 on the year.

James Gladden earned the victory for the Rams after pitching the final 5.2 innings in relief. Gladden allowed two hits while striking out four and walking one.

Cornell made VCU's starting pitcher, Christian Gordon, work in the first inning as the Big Red plated four runs in the frame to give the Big Red's starting pitcher, freshman right-hander Ethan Hamill, some breathing room.

Hamill finished the game as the losing pitcher, allowing eight runs on 11 hits in his four innings of action. He walked one, struck out four, and hit two batters.

Sophomore John Quinlan led the game off with a triple to center field, leading to an RBI infield single by senior outfielder Wils Guy which gave Cornell an early 1-0 advantage.

Fellow sophomore Max Jensen and freshman infielder TJ Swidorski drew a pair of walks to load the bases. Kyle Musser, another sophomore, drove in two runs with a double off the left field wall to put the Big Red ahead by three. Junior Matt Barnhorst tacked on a sacrifice fly to further increase the Big Red's lead.

All nine Big Red batters ended up coming up to the plate in the first inning, as Cornell forced Gordon to throw 48 first-inning pitches.

VCU responded to Cornell's four-run first inning with seven unanswered runs over the first four innings to put the host Rams ahead, 7-4.

Cornell cut into the Rams' lead with an RBI single in the fifth by Ryan Ross, as the base knock drove in Barnhorst, who led the inning off with a single before stealing second.

Senior left-hander Spencer Edwards stymied VCU's batters during his three innings of relief. He allowed just three baserunners – two on free passes (one hit by pitch and one walk) and on one error. Edwards struck out three Rams batters.

Both teams were held scoreless until a sacrifice fly and an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth gave VCU some insurance runs.

Game Notes

• Cornell and VCU met for the sixth time in program history on Saturday, as the Rams improved to 6-0 all-time over the Big Red.

• Barnhorst became the first Cornell player to steal multiple bases in a game this season. He is the first Big Red player to accomplish the feat since Ryan Porter swiped three bases against Dartmouth on April 24, 2022.

• Guy recorded his second multi-hit game in as many days, while increasing his career total to 13.

• Musser also recorded his second multi-RBI game in as many days following his two-run double in the first.

• The Big Red has now scored the first run in six of its eight games so far this season.

Looking Ahead

The two teams will close the three-game series at The Diamond on Sunday with a 11 a.m. first pitch. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN+. The first pitch has been moved up two hours due to a threat of inclement weather.

Right-hander Von Baker (0-1, 5.59 ERA) is slated to toe the rubber for the Big Red, while VCU's starter has yet to be announced.