Box Score

April 24, 2006

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Freshman Chris Carls picked up his first collegiate win in game two to help Cornell to a doubleheader split with Columbia on Monday afternoon at Hoy Field. Columbia exploded for six runs in the eighth inning to claim game one, 10-4, then watched as Carls and sophomore Brian Kaufman lifted the Big Red to an 11-2 win in the nightcap. Cornell improved to 10-24 (6-10 Ivy) with the split, while the Lions are now 10-30 (6-14 Ivy).

Carls allowed two runs and seven hits in 8.0 innings, striking out nine and walking three to pick up his first victory. Kaufman was 4-for-5 in game two with a home run, three runs scored and two RBI as the Big Red offense tallied 16 hits. Ry Kagan added three hits and drove in four, while Scott Hardinger also had three safeties. Princeton's Monday afternoon doubleheader split with Penn means Cornell will have to take 3-of-4 games next weekend to win its second consecutive Gehrig Division title.

Game two was a pitcher's dual between Columbia's Brett Beller and Cornell's Chris Carls. Carls allowed just two hits and a walk while striking out eight in the first five innings, while Beller scattered four hits over the first four before the home team got into the swing of things. Six consecutive hits to lead off the inning plated the first three runs, as Matt Goodson singled home Ry Kagan to make it 1-0, then Gordon singled to scored Scott Hardinger to make it 2-0. McKown's bases loaded single made it 3-0 before the Lions recorded an out in the frame. Cornell also drew a bases loaded walk to add to the scoring column. It was a 5-0 Cornell lead by the end of the inning.

Cornell added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth inning after Brian Kaufman stroked his seventh homer of the season, clearing the right-centerfield fence to make it 7-0. Meanwhile, Carls continued to roll, allowing two hits in the seventh, but getting out of the jam with a pop-up to right. Columbia scored a run in the top of the eighth to breakup the shutout, but the Big Red regained any lost momentum with a four-run eighth, as Ry Kagan's triple to right-center plated three runners and a Matt Goodson double scored another.

In game one, both teams threatened in the first inning with runners on first and second and one out, but both starting pitchers got out of the jam to keep it scoreless. Domenic DiRicco had the highlight play of the contest in the field in the second with a sliding catch after a long run to the left field line, robbing Marc Gold of a double.

In the bottom of the second inning, DiRicco collected the Big Red's first hit of the contest, followed by a solid single to center by William Pauly. Kaleb Hutchinson was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out and Hardinger drove him home with a deep fly to left-center to make it 1-0 Big Red. A little dink to right by the next batter, Seth Gordon, made it 2-0.

The Lions took the lead with three runs in the top of the third inning, highlighted by a bases loaded single by Ron Williams that snuck through the left side to tie the game 2-2, then went up on a bases loaded walk.

Columbia added a run in the top of the fifth, but it was quickly erased when McKown blasted a home run to left to lead-off the inning to make it 4-3. An RBI triple that hit midway up the centerfield fence by William Pauly later in the inning knotted the score at 4-4. The Lions threatened with runners on first and third and two outs, but Hardinger made a leaping grab at short to end the rally.

The visitors got to Cornell's bullpen in the eighth, scoring six times off of Tom Laughlin and Adam Loeding, taking advantage of two errors, four walks and a balk to score its runs on just two hits.

The loss ruined a solid performance from Jim Hyland, who allowed just one earned run and scattered nine hits in 7.0 innings. William Pauly was 3-for-4 with a triple, with Michael Weiss collecting two hits, including a three-bagger.

The Big Red will play host to Siena College on Tuesday, April 25, at 4 p.m. in a single nine-inning contest. It was originally scheduled as a 2 p.m. doubleheader.