MONMOUTH, Ill. – Cornell's pitching staff dominated Wednesday's Midwest Conference baseball doubleheader, firing 17 consecutive scoreless innings in a resounding 9-0, 5-1 sweep of Monmouth at Glasgow Field.
Cornell (17-15 overall, 8-10 MWC) took two of three games from the Fighting Scots (15-15 overall, 8-9 MWC), marking the Rams' third series win in league play.
The Rams have charged back into strong contention for an MWC postseason berth, now only percentage points behind fourth-place Monmouth with six league contests remaining.
Monmouth mustered its lone run Wednesday on a wild pitch with two outs in the ninth inning of Game 2.
In the opener, hot-hitting
Kale Rose belted a two-run double in the fifth inning and slugged a grand slam in the sixth that put the Rams ahead 9-0. Rose finished with six RBIs.
Sophomore right-hander
Cameron Anderson (2-2) earned the pitching win, tossing six scoreless innings of three-hit ball against his former team.
Jackson Lisle preserved the shutout, holding the Fighting Scots to three hits over the final three frames for his first save of the season.
Leadoff man
Ryan Weaver went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. The Rams also received two hits apiece from
Esteban Perez,
Vince Zipperer and
Lincoln Greasley.
Game 2 winning pitcher
Vince Tinajero (3-0) remained unscored upon this season, stretching the impressive streak to 14.2 innings. The junior scattered just three hits over six innings, striking out three and walking one.
Kaleb Whaley worked the final three innings for the save. He struck out four, including a key punchout with the bases loaded to end the eighth inning.
Cade Parks went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.
Sean Alvarez,
Paxson Wright and Greasley each had one hit and one RBI.
The Rams took a 2-0 lead into the eighth inning, when they added two insurance runs on Park's RBI double and Wright's bases-loaded walk.
Coming up – The Rams are scheduled to host Knox (9-20 overall, 4-13 MWC) for a noon doubleheader on Saturday's Senior Day at Ash Park Field.
