ATLANTA — Seven unanswered runs over the first six innings aided the Cornell baseball team to an 11-4 victory over Georgia Tech at Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium on Sunday afternoon, avoiding a sweep of its season-opening three-game series.

The victory is Cornell's first of the season and its first over a Power Five opponent since defeating Penn State, 10-6, in a fog-shortened eight-inning contest on March 28, 2018, in University Park, Pa.

Sophomore shortstop TJ Swidorski drove in a team-high three runs on the day for Cornell (1-2). Freshman third baseman Luke Johnson also had a multi-RBI day with a two-run double. Junior left fielder Ryan Porter, sophomore right fielder Caden Wildman, and senior second baseman Matt Barnhorst all had two hits apiece for the Big Red as a part of an 11-hit day.

Junior William Jaun made his collegiate debut on the mound, pitching five-plus innings while allowing a pair of runs on four hits. He walked four and struck out one en route to the victory. Sophomore Ethan Hamill pitched the final four innings to collect his first save in a Cornell uniform.

Bobby Zmarzlak drove in three of Georgia Tech's four runs with a three-run home run in the sixth inning. Vahn Lackey tacked on a leadoff home run in the ninth for the Yellow Jackets (6-1), who had its season-opening six-game win streak snapped.

Cornell chased Georgia Tech starting pitcher Mason Patel after four innings after he allowed four runs on seven hits. He struck out a trio of Big Red hitters without issuing a free pass.

Following a pair of ground outs to open the contest, senior catcher Nathan Waugh gave Cornell a 1-0 lead with a two-out home run hit to dead-center field that nearly hit the batter's eye.

Swidorski brought in Cornell's next three runs to put the Big Red up four, thanks to a second-inning sacrifice fly and a two-run single in the fourth.

A controversial two-run double by Johnson increased Cornell's lead to 6-0, as the umpires initially ruled that the ball landed in foul territory but was reversed following a Cornell challenge. A fielding error by Georgia Tech's first baseman Cam Jones on a batted ball by junior first baseman Max Jensen allowed Johnson to score in the next plate appearance.

Jaun opened the sixth inning on the mound for Cornell but was relieved after issuing a pair of walks to open the frame. Following a groundout, Zmarzlak cut into the Big Red's lead with an opposite-field three-run home run.

The Big Red upped its lead in the ninth behind four unanswered runs, three of which came on a fielding error by right fielder Parker Brosius on a batted ball by Wildman, who crossed home plate for the third time for the game on a ground-rule double by Barnhorst.

Lackey attempted to ignite a ninth-inning rally for the Yellow Jackets with a leadoff home run. The Big Red, however, thwarted Georgia Tech's aspirations by getting a double play and a groundout to conclude the contest.

GAME NOTES
• Sunday was the seventh all-time meeting between Cornell and Georgia Tech, as the Big Red took control of the series, 4-3. All four victories over the Yellow Jackets have seen the Big Red score at least nine runs, and three have featured Cornell plating 11-plus runs.

• The victory was Cornell's third win over a Power Five program under Dan Pepicelli, joining a 2-1 victory over Michigan State on March 19, 2017, in Richmond, Va., and the win over Penn State in 2018.

• Wildman recorded his first collegiate multi-hit game and scored a career-high three runs in the victory. Johnson drove in his first two runs of his college career, and Swidorski posted his first three-RBI game at Cornell.

• The seven-run margin of victory is Cornell's largest against a Division I opponent since defeating Coppin State, 14-5, in the nightcap of a doubleheader on March 5, 2022.

• Cornell turned three double plays, marking the program's most in a game since April 21, 2022, when it also spun a trio of twin killings against Princeton in an 11-8 loss.

• When registering a double-digit-run total, Cornell improved its record to 26-1 under Pepicelli's tutelage.

UP NEXT
Cornell will return to action next weekend when the Big Red travels to Harrisonburg, Va., to face James Madison (5-3) in a three-game series at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park. The set will begin on Friday, March 1, with a 3 p.m. first pitch before having 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. starts on Saturday and Sunday.

The Dukes, who will play George Mason in a non-conference contest on Wednesday at 2 p.m., are riding a four-game winning streak after posting a three-game sweep of Fairfield and defeating Virginia Tech, 8-7, in a midweek contest last Wednesday.