NEW YORK — Junior catcher
Nathan Waugh went a combined 6-for-9 with three doubles, a home run, and five RBI as the Cornell baseball team split its doubleheader with Columbia at Robertson Field at Satow Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Columbia posted a 15-1 victory in the opener of the pair of games before the Big Red avoided being swept in Sunday's twin bill, and the three-game Ivy League series, with a 13-8 win.
Following the pair of games, Cornell has an overall record of 3-15 and 3-3 mark in Ivy League play. The Big Red is off to its best six-game start in Ancient Eight play since starting the 2015 campaign with a 4-2 record.
Game One Recap
Columbia plated 13 of its 15 runs over the final four innings it had at-bats in to aid the host Lions to a 15-1 victory over Cornell in the opening game of Sunday's doubleheader.
Joe Sheets had a strong day on the mound for the Lions, allowing one run on eight hits while walking one and striking out six over his 7.1 innings of work.
Freshman pitcher
Noah Keller was on the losing end of the decision for Cornell. The southpaw hurler allowed two runs (one earned), while giving up four hits over his four-inning outing. Keller issued three walks and struck out five batters.
An RBI single by Weston Eberly in the first inning and an RBI groundout by Grant Palfrey in the second inning allowed the Lions to take a 2-0 lead after the first two innings.
Andy Blake opened the fifth inning with a double to set up Hayden Schott for a two-run home run to increase Columbia's advantage to 4-0.
After Columbia scored a run on a fielding error in the sixth, the Lions plated four runs in the seventh thanks to a grand slam hit by second baseman Jack Kail.
Waugh recorded the lone run-scoring hit for the Big Red in the eighth, doubling home sophomore
Max Jensen after he registered a one-out double.
Columbia tacked on six insurance runs in the eighth inning, highlighted by a two-run double by Cole Hage and a three-run, pinch-hit home run by Sam Miller.
Game Two Recap
Waugh went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, and four RBI to pace Cornell's offense to a 13-8 victory, preventing being swept in the doubleheader and in the three-game series.
Cornell's 13 runs were the most scored by the Big Red this season and were the most since plating 14 runs against Coppin State in the latter game of a March 5 doubleheader last season.
Jensen and senior outfielder
Sam Kaplan also had three RBI in the contest for the Big Red, as Jensen joined Waugh and junior infielder
Ryan Ross with hitting round-trippers in the victory.
Fellow sophomore catcher
John Quinlan went 3-for-6 with a double, while Jensen, Kaplan, senior infielder
Joe Hollerbach, and sophomore infielder
Ryan Porter all had two-hit days for the Big Red, who combined for a season-high 18 hits.
Freshman pitcher
Carson Mayfield recorded his first victory of his collegiate career after logging five innings of relief for starting pitcher
Von Baker. Mayfield allowed three runs on two hits while walking a pair of batters and striking out three.
Seth Dardar went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI for Columbia, while Schott hit a home run and scored three times for the Lions in the setback.
Palfrey started the game on the mound for the Lions, and was forced out of the game in the third inning after yielding five runs on seven hits in 2.1 innings of work.
Cornell offensive found its groove early on in the contest, leaping out to an 11-3 lead after scoring at least one run in each of the first five innings. During the span, Cornell pounded out 11 hits, eight of which went for extra bases (five doubles and three home runs).
After Quinlan led off the contest with a double, Waugh registered the first of his two doubles in the game to put Cornell ahead early on.
The Lions plated two runs in the home-half of the first behind a wild pitch by Baker and an RBI single by Dardar.
Cornell tied the game in the second on a sacrifice fly by Porter, but Columbia retook the lead following another wild pitch by Baker with a runner at third base.
A three-run third was the first of nine unanswered runs by Cornell as Jensen hit a two-run home run and Kaplan tacked on an RBI single after Waugh logged his second double in as many plate at-bats.
Porter and senior outfielder
Elijah Diaz drew leadoff walks in the fourth, setting up Quinlan and Jensen for their respective RBI singles that further increased the Big Red's lead. Waugh distanced Cornell farther from Columbia with a three-run home run to cap a five-run frame and put the Big Red up by seven runs, 10-3.
Ross opened the fifth with a leadoff home run, punctuating the nine unanswered Cornell runs. The round-tripper by Ross was the Big Red's third home run in as many innings.
An RBI double by Dardar and an RBI groundout by Anton Lazits trimmed Cornell's lead to five in the fifth before Schott hit his home run in the seventh.
Kaplan singled home a pair of runs on a single in the eighth, bringing the Big Red's lead back up to seven, 13-6.
Columbia scored twice in the home-half of the ninth on a wild pitch by Porter and an RBI single by Dardar, but the sophomore utility player was able to prevent a potential comeback by the Lions.
Game Notes
• Cornell and Columbia played for the 245th and 246th times on Sunday. The Big Red is now 130-116 all-time over the Lions, and snapped its six-game losing streak to its Empire State rival.
• Waugh recorded Cornell's first four-hit game since Kaplan did so in the opening game of an April 22 doubleheader against Dartmouth last year.
• The Big Red's 18 hits were the most by a Cornell team since also registering 18 hits against Princeton on April 30, 2017.
• Over the three-game series, Cornell mustered 38 hits, logging a team batting average of .336. Of the 38 hits, 18 went for extra bases (11 doubles, one triple, six home runs).
• Waugh (.667 – 6-of-9), Hollerbach (.462 – 6-of-13), Porter (.444 – 4-of-9), and Kaplan (.417 – 5-of-12) all had batting averages north of .400 on the weekend.
• The six doubles in the nightcap were Cornell's most in a single game since doing so in the second game of an April 2 doubleheader against Yale last season.
• After hitting three home runs on Saturday, Cornell also blasted three round-trippers in the opening game of the series. The six home runs were the most by the Big Red in a single weekend since also recording six against Dartmouth last year (April 23-24).
• With Cornell logging 10-plus hits in each of its last three games, it is the first time the Big Red has strung together three consecutive 10-hit performances since doing so in five straight games in 2018 (April 21-28).
Looking Ahead
Cornell will return to East Hill to play its first home game of the season on Tuesday against its crosstown rival Ithaca. First pitch from Hoy Field is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN+.
