JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – Junior relief pitcher Vince Tinajero fired 4.2 scoreless innings and helped the Rams outlast Illinois College, 7-5 in 12 innings, in the nightcap of Saturday's Midwest Conference baseball doubleheader at Joe Brooks Field.
 
Illinois College claimed the opening game, 9-4. The Rams (14-15 overall, 5-10 MWC) and Blueboys (20-12 overall, 7-9 MWC) will settle the series in Sunday's noon finale in Jacksonville, Ill.
 
Tinajero (2-0) went to the mound with one out and one runner on in a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the eighth of Game 2. The right-hander shut down the Blueboys the rest of the way, allowing just two singles to earn the victory.
 
Pinch hitter Lincoln Greasley was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the top of the 12th, plating Ryan Weaver with the go-ahead run. Sean Alvarez later drew a bases-loaded walk to push Cornell's lead to 7-5.
 
The Blueboys mounted a threat in the bottom of the 12th. Tinajero stranded the tying run on first base when the game ended.
 
Vince Zipperer led Cornell's 10-hit attack, going 3-for-5 from the No. 9 spot in the lineup. Alvarez had two hits. Kale Rose doubled and drove in two.
 
In Game 1, the Rams charged out to a 4-0 lead on Jack Rogers' solo homer in the top of the fourth. The Blueboys chipped away with at least one run in each of their final five at-bats to gain control.
 
Rose tallied two more hits and scored a run. Illinois College outhit the Rams, 15-7, and took advantage of four Cornell errors in the field.