VESTAL, N.Y. — Down to its final strike, junior right fielder Kyle Musser picked an opportune time to blast the first home run of his collegiate career and aid the Cornell baseball team to post a come-from-behind 9-7 victory over Binghamton at the Bearcats Baseball Complex on Tuesday evening.
Musser's blast capped seven unanswered runs scored by the Big Red over the final three innings to give Cornell (11-13) its third consecutive victory and ninth triumph in its previous 11 games.
Junior right fielder John Quinlan ignited the Big Red's four-run ninth inning with a solo home run deposited into the Bearcats' right-field bullpen.
Quinlan, junior first baseman Max Jensen, and freshman designated hitter Mark Quatrani all had two-hit games for Cornell.
Senior right-handed pitcher Story Kimura posted his first collegiate victory for the Big Red, hurling two scoreless innings of relief.
Six Cornell pitchers combined to register 12 strikeouts on the night, highlighted by freshman left-handed pitcher Nathaniel Jennewein, who fanned a team-high five in his two-inning start.
Tommy Reifler and Nick Roselli each had two-hit games, combining for four of the six hits produced by Binghamton (13-19), which has now lost its last four and six of its previous seven.
Cornell opened the contest by plating the first two runs in the second and fifth innings on a two-out RBI single by Owen Carlson and a double play turned by the Bearcats with the bases loaded.
Binghamton countered with a seven-run sixth inning to take a five-run lead on the Big Red. Following a leadoff strikeout, the Bearcats drew four consecutive walks, setting up a two-RBI single by Eric Madenberg and two-RBI doubles by Roselli and Evin Sullivan.
An immediate response by the Big Red in the seventh enabled three runs to cross home, two of which came on a play that led to Roselli receiving two errors — one fielding and one throwing. Quatrani capped the frame with an RBI single back up the middle to score Waugh.
The Big Red's four-run ninth inning began with a leadoff home run by Quinlan, sending a 2-2 inside fastball over the right-field wall for his fourth home run of the season.
A walk by Jensen and a two-out free pass drawn by Quatrani led to Musser's game-changing three-run home run.
Kimura was able to stave off Binghamton's attempt at sparking a ninth-inning rally by inducing a game-ending double play.
GAME NOTES
• Tuesday's game between Cornell and Binghamton was the 47th meeting between the Central New York rivals. The Big Red upped its lead in the series over the Bearcats to 27-19-1 and has won three of the last four and is 8-4-1 in the previous 13 contests.
• Cornell posted its sixth victory under Dan Pepicelli, the Ted Thoren Head Coach of Cornell Baseball, when trailing after eight innings of play. It is the first such win since March 20, 2022, when it used a five-run ninth to defeat Richmond, 7-4.
• With the ninth-inning home runs by Quinlan and Musser, Cornell improved to 7-0 when hitting multiple home runs in a game.
• The two home runs were the 31st and 32nd round-trippers hit by Cornell on the season, assuming sole possession of fifth place in program history for the most home runs hit in a single season.
MOST HOME RUNS IN A SEASON
Cornell Program History
1. 38 (2009)
2. 35 (1999)
3. 34 (2001)
4. 33 (2022)
5. 32 (2024)
• Following his first-inning walk, senior catcher Nathan Waugh extended his on-base streak to 28 games, dating back to last season.
• Quatrani also extended his on-base streak to 12 games after going 2-for-3 with a pair of walks drawn. Sophomore center fielder Caden Wildman had his 11-game on-base streak snapped after going 0-for-5.
ON DECK
Cornell returns to Booth Field this weekend to face Yale (11-17, 6-6 Ivy League) in a three-game series that will kick off the Big Red's final six home games of the regular season.
The series between the Big Red and Bulldogs will begin Saturday with a doubleheader scheduled for an 11:30 a.m. start before the series finale commences Sunday at noon. All games of the series will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Last year, Cornell took two of three games from Yale at George H.W. Bush '48 Field in West Haven, Conn., marking the second consecutive season series taken by the Big Red, which has won four of the last six in the series.
