Senior first baseman Brendan Skidmore sent the ball soaring deep to right center field. Cornell’s Kaleb Lepper chased the ball down to the fence, slamming into the wall before making the catch and robbing Skidmore of an extra base hit.
In the Bearcats’ 10-2 loss to the Big Red (18-15) Wednesday night, it seemed as though BU (20-8, 9-3 America East) couldn’t get a hit to fall. The loss broke the Bearcats’ seven-game win streak. The Bearcats hit two home runs, but were outhit by Cornell, which smashed 11 hits and two home runs of its own, including a grand slam.
The game remained scoreless going into the third. Senior third baseman Tommy Wagner grounded out to third, driving in senior second baseman Frankie Padulo and sparking a seven-run rally, which included two home runs. Junior left fielder Pierre Le Dorze ripped the first homer over right center, bringing in two runs to give the Big Red a 3-0 lead.
In the fourth inning, sophomore pitcher Robert Brown allowed Cornell to load the bases before giving up a grand slam to junior designated hitter Ellis Bitar. While the the Bearcats responded with two solo home runs from junior designated hitter Jason Agresti and sophomore pinch hitter Matt Tsukroff, they accounted for all of the BU’s runs.
BU head coach Tim Sinicki used eight different pitchers in the loss, and expressed disappointment in the his staff’s performance against Cornell. The Bearcats’ pitchers gave up 11 total runs and four walks. Going into the game, the Bearcats pitchers held a 2.99 ERA, good for 11th in the nation.
“I didn’t think we were very aggressive with our attacking of the strike zone,” Sinicki said. “I thought we pitched maybe a little bit scared tonight, which is a little uncharacteristic of what we’ve done so far.”
However, the team as a whole did not live up to Sinicki’s expectations.
“We didn’t do a good job tonight in any area really,” he said.
Due to a $2.2 million gift from an anonymous donor, lights and a turf field were installed at the Bearcats Sports Complex. This allowed the Bearcats to play their first ever night game at home.
Binghamton is set to face Central Connecticut State on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for noon from the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.