MONMOUTH, Ill. – Shortstop James Kent (SO/Phoenix, Ariz.) smashed a decisive grand slam in the eighth inning to propel Cornell's baseball team to an 8-6 Game 1 win over Monmouth Thursday afternoon at Glasgow Field.
Cornell's bats were kept quiet in a 3-1 Game 2 loss as the teams settled for a Midwest Conference South Division split. The nightcap marked the first time the Rams (6-14 overall, 4-4 MWC) had scored fewer than seven runs in conference play.
Monmouth (9-5 overall), which swept the Rams on April 3, moved to 7-3 in the MWC.
Senior right-hander Cameron Anfang (SR/Sullivan, Wis.) provided another quality start in the opener, allowing three runs and striking out four over seven innings. Anfang (3-2) has now recorded 14 strikeouts and only two walks in his last two outings, both wins.
The turning point of Game 1 came in the top of the eighth with the Rams clinging to a 4-3 lead. Kent came up with two outs and the bases loaded and drove everyone home with his first collegiate home run. It was the team's third grand slam of the season.
Monmouth brought the winning run to the plate with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Cornell reliever Carter Kriegel (SO/Tama, Iowa) worked out of the jam, getting a strikeout and groundout to end the game for his first save of the year.
The Rams got two hits apiece from Caleb Sass (SR/Iowa City, Iowa), Zach Stone (SR/Coralville, Iowa) and Ian Renger (SR/Bloomingdale, Ill.). Stone added two RBIs.
Cornell squandered several scoring opportunities in Game 2, spoiling a solid seven-inning outing from starting pitcher Kole Hinrichsen (SO/Washington, Iowa), who yielded just two earned runs while fanning five. Preston Wright (SO/Orlando, Fla.) pitched one scoreless inning in relief.
In six of the innings, the Rams had their leadoff batter reach base but managed just one run. Cornell stranded 10 total runners and failed to score on a critical bases-loaded, no-out situation in the top of the eighth.
Kent accounted for half of Cornell's hits, going 2-for-3 from the No. 9 spot in the lineup. Stone singled and drove in a run. Nathan White (SR/Union Grove, Wis.) also had a hit.
Coming up – The Rams step outside the division Saturday for a noon doubleheader against MWC North foe Lawrence (10-8) in Appleton, Wis.
