The baseball team (14-7) dominated its six-game home stand by winning five out of the six matchups this past week. After dropping the first game against Cornell 3-0 on March 21, the Bison took the next three 2-1, 2-1, and 8-7. Then, the Orange and Blue extended their winning streak to five games with a 6-2 win over Binghamton on March 24 and an 8-7 victory against Mount St. Mary’s on March 25.

“This weekend was a stepping stone for our team to continue to build as the season goes on. Our team looks to continue to get better every series we play,” Anthony Gingerelli ’15 said.

The Bison split the opening round of games with Cornell. Bryson Hough ’15 pitched a complete game in the first match, striking out three batters. Unfortunately, the Bison offense didn’t pick up until game two. Cornell scored in the first inning before Greg Wasikowski ’15 drove Tommy Pennington ’16 home after a two-out throwing error.

The deciding run came in the fifth inning before the game was called due to darkness. After Brett Smith ’17 reached first base, Gingerelli bolted a double to right field that led Smith back to home plate for the winning run. Eight strikeouts by Xavier Hammond ’15 stifled the Big Red.

“I was fortunate that Smitty (Smith) did his job of leading off the inning with a single,” Gingerelli said. “In a situation like that, looking for a lead later in the game, I’m just trying to follow his lead, do my job, and put us in a position to bring home the W.”

Another low-scoring game took place in the first game of the second doubleheader. Andrew Andreychik ’16 pitched all seven innings, striking out seven batters in the process. After Cornell scored the opening run in the first inning, the Orange and Blue responded with two runs in the fourth. Joe Ogren ’16 and Spencer Stokes ’16 each contributed an RBI.

“I tried to focus on my accuracy especially after my last start against Bowling Green didn’t go so well,” Andreychik said. “I was confident in the guys behind me and confident we would score enough runs to win a game so I just did my best to give the guys an opportunity to maintain a lead.”

In the fourth game of the series, both teams combined for 15 runs. The Bison scored the first three runs of the game before Cornell reeled off five runs in the third. The Orange and Blue countered with four runs in the fifth and tacked on one in the seventh to claim the victory. Wasikowski drove in two RBIs while Smith, Ogren, Stokes, and Mark Powell ’17 added an RBI each.

The Bison offense continued its momentum against Binghamton. Gingerelli and Mike Korchak ’18 posted two RBIs each, as the Bison scored four runs in the second inning to cruise to victory. Both teams used a combined 14 pitchers in the game and Max Kra ’16 earned his first win of the season.

In the Mount St. Mary’s game, the Bison pulled off a solid comeback after trailing 7-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth. Four runs by the Orange and Blue trimmed the deficit to one before Smith and Gingerelli added an RBI apiece on a fielder’s choice and sacrifice fly to complete the comeback win in the eighth. Mike Castellani ’17 closed the final three innings for the Bison, protecting the lead with three strikeouts and holding the Mountaineers scoreless in his stretch.

The Bison open Patriot League play with a four-game series against Navy in Annapolis on March 28-29.

“We really wanted to focus on preparing for Patriot League play this weekend with it being the same format as our next matchup with Navy,” Andreychik said.