MOUNT VERNON – A pitchers' duel early got away from the Rams late in a 10-1 Midwest Conference baseball loss to Chicago on a blustery Saturday afternoon at Ash Park Field.
 
The Maroons (15-13 overall, 9-7 MWC) charged ahead by scoring nine times in their final four at-bats and climbed into a tie for third place in the league standings. The Rams slipped to fifth, although only percentage points behind, at 17-12 overall, 8-7 in the MWC.
 
The Rams and Maroons meet tomorrow for a 1 p.m. doubleheader in Mount Vernon.
 
Cornell's Patrick Montagna was locked in a pitching battle with Chicago's Drew Bryan, neither allowing an earned run through five innings with the score tied at 1-1. Chicago pulled ahead with a two-out RBI single in the sixth and added a pair of two-out runs in the seventh.
 
Montagna (3-2) scattered nine hits and yielded only two earned runs over seven frames.
 
Bryan earned the victory, holding the Rams to four hits and striking out 10 in seven innings. The junior right-hander retired the final 13 batters he faced.  
 
Shortstop James Kent recorded two hits, stole two bases and delivered flashy plays in the field to keep the game close in the early going.
 
Leadoff man Darren Mancke went 1-for-4 with a run. The junior outfielder extended his hitting streak to 13 games and reached base safely for the 27th consecutive contest, dating back to 2022. Mancke also tallied his team-leading 15th stolen base of the season.
 
The Maroons scored six times in the top of the ninth to put the game out of reach.