The Cornell Bears (2-9) arrived at Medlar Field Wednesday for a showdown with the Penn State Nittany Lions (7-3). Penn State came off a 1-2 weekend against Rutgers in the opening action of its Big Ten schedule, and was hoping to play some good ball despite numerous postponements due to weather over the past few weeks. A sloppy game in general, the teams racked up more than 20 walks on the day. The umpires eventually called the game in the top of the eighth inning due to fog that caused players to run in the wrong direction at times.

How It Happened

Penn State freshman pitcher Bailey Dees held his own after a lead-off base hit by Cornell’s Ryan Krainz, managing to strike out two and help bring Penn State to bat in the bottom of the first. Catcher Ryan Sloniger got on base first for Penn State, but with two strikeouts and a fly out surrounding his at-bat, the first inning ended scoreless.

Cornell scored first in the top of the second inning, with a two-run home run by Kalani Matton bouncing off the left field foul pole. A pop fly on the next at bat caught by center fielder Mason Nadeau sent the game into the bottom of the second. Nadeau batted first for the Nittany Lions, but struck out at the hands of Cornell pitcher Austin Wahl. Following Nadeau, Joe Weisenseel, Conlin Hughes, and Derek Orndorff loaded the bases for Jordan Bowersox to step to the plate. A walk brought Weisenseel home for Penn State’s first score of the game. An errant pitch let Hughes run home while Cornell’s catcher scrambled to find the ball, tying the game 2-2.

Good hitting by Cornell and bad pitching by Penn State led to bases loaded in the top of the third. Cornell capitalized and drove a runner in off a good hit by third baseman Will Simoneit. The Nittany Lions switched pitchers, bringing in junior Marko Boricich. A solid hit by Cornell seemed to spell continuing problems for Penn State, but a sliding catch by Nadeau in the outfield ended Cornell’s third inning effort, with the game at 3-2 Cornell. With Penn State up to bat, a double by Braxton Giavedoni and a drive to right field by Nadeua set up Penn State’s next score, tying the game at 3-3.

A series of walks by Marko Borocich loaded the bases for Cornell in the top of the fourth inning and a wild pitch allowed Cornell to capitalize and score from third, bringing the game to 4-3 Cornell. More walks and a good hit to right field led to another two scores and a 6-3 lead for Cornell. The game rolled on scoreless until the bottom of the fifth, when Shea Sbranti and Conlin Hughes crossed over home plate after nice hits by Nadeau and Logan Goodnight.

Cornell was able to score again in the top of the sixth inning and bring the game to 8-5. Scoreless until the top of the eighth, a drive to center field brought in another run for Cornell. At this point in the game, there was basically zero visibility in the outfield and fielders scrambled just to find the ball on the ground. Umpires allowed one more hit that drove in another score, bringing the game to 10-6 Cornell, before calling the game.

Player of the Game

Ryan Sloniger | Junior | Catcher/DH

Sloniger got a hit tonight, making it 17 out of 19 games he’s played in that he’s had a hit. Despite the loss, Sloniger has been a consistent driving force in the team’s offense and defense, when he plays. Today Sloniger was a designated hitter, but his ability at bat still makes him a valuable addition to the team.

What’s Next?

Penn State takes on the Purdue Boilermakers at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Medlar Field.