March 31, 2007

Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y.--The season started anew on Saturday, as conference play began throughout the Ivy League. Yale's pursuit of the Rolfe Division title got underway with a doubleheader at Cornell's newly renovated Hoy Field. The Big Red (7-11, 1-1 Ivy) posted a 5-0 victory in the first game of the twinbill before the Bulldogs (7-14, 1-1 Ivy) rebounded for a 6-5 win in game two.

"Everyone expects this league to be a dogfight, and today was just an example of that," Head Coach John Stuper said. "Now we need to put together a winning streak."

Cornell's Jim Hyland was dominant in game one. Hyland (2-2) faced just one batter over the minimum and gave up only two hits in a complete game effort for his second consecutive shutout. Ryan Lavarnway singled in the second inning to extend his hitting streak to 20 games. After Lavarnway was thrown out stealing second, Hyland retired the next 13 Bulldogs in a row before Josh Cox's bunt single leading off the seventh.

Jimmy Heinz provided the offense for Cornell with an RBI double and a solo homer. The Big Red plated two runs in the bottom of the first, two more in the third, and a final tally on Heinz's homer in the sixth.

Stefan Schropp (2-2) went the distance for Yale and struck out eight while walking two.

The Bulldogs put a run on the board in the top of the first in game two. Marc Sawyer singled, then moved to third on Lavarnway's double. Sawyer scored on Justin Ankney's groundout.

The Big Red took the lead with two in the bottom of the third, but Yale stormed back with five runs in the top of the fifth. Leadoff hitter Pedro Obregon walked and later scored on a Cox single. Sawyer grounded into a fielder's choice, but Cox was safe at third when Steven Dannaway dropped the throw from the shortstop. Up next was Lavarnway, who belted his seventh homer of the season to put the Bulldogs back in front. Yale got another run when Charles Bush's RBI single drove in Ankney.

Cornell pulled within 6-5 with three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Singles by Nathan Ford, Kyle Groth and Brant McKown loaded the bases with one out. Ford scored on Scott Hardinger's sacrifice fly, then the Big Red made it a one-run game when Groth and McKown scored on Dannaway's single. Brian Irving came in to replace Steve Gilman and got Dominic Di Ricco to ground softly to first to end the inning.

Gilman (2-2) went 5.2 innings to earn the win. Irving shut Cornell down over the final 3.1 innings, yielding just one hit while striking out four to pick up his second save of the season. Lavarnway went 3-for-5 in the second game to increase his hitting streak to 21 games, tying Jake Grove's 78-year-old school record. Ankney was also 3-for-5 with two doubles and a triple, as the Bulldogs out-hit Cornell 12-10.

Dannaway was 2-for-4 with a run scored and three RBIs for the Big Red. Ford went 3-for-4. All 10 Cornell hits in game two were singles. Tony Bertucci (0-2) took the loss after giving up seven hits and six runs in five innings of work.

Yale returns to action with a doubleheader at defending Ivy League champion Princeton Sunday at 12 p.m. The Tigers (4-13, 0-2 Ivy) were swept by Brown, 4-2 and 14-8, in their Ivy-opening doubleheader on Saturday.

Report filed by Joe Clifford, Yale Sports Publicity