Baseball News Releases
Patzke, Bartine pace hitting attack on four-game weekend trip
Coming up - Saturday, March 13, at Robert Morris-Springfield University, Springfield, Ill., 1 p.m. DH; Sunday, March 14, at Robert Morris-Springfield University, Springfield, Ill., 12 p.m. DH.
Ram review - Junior Andrew Patzke (Neenah, Wis./Madison Edgewood) and senior David Bartine (Des Moines/Roosevelt) both batted over .500 during a recent road trip, but defensive miscues plagued Cornell in an 0-4 weekend against two Division III foes from the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The Rams (2-5) fell 10-2 and 14-13 in Saturday's doubleheader at Greenville (Ill.) College. Cornell then dropped a pair of games Sunday to Fontbonne University, 7-3 and 9-2, in St. Louis, Mo.
Cornell's pitching staff surrendered 16 unearned runs while the offense stranded 31 runners on base in the four games.
"Opportunities were there for us. We just need to start taking advantage of them," Cornell first-year head coach Adam Hadenfeldt said. "Overall, I was happy with our pitching staff but we need to work on cutting down the walks (21 in 24 innings).
"We have to continue to learn how to deal with adversity. We played teams that are going to make us better down the road. Now we have to get back to doing the things that are going to make us successful."
Patzke led the Rams with a .571 batting average (4 for 7) and five RBIs on the trip. He went 3 for 4 with four RBIs and two runs scored in the wild 14-13 loss to Greenville (3-1). Cornell trailed 9-4 after three innings, pulled to within 13-11 after five and then tied it at 13-13 with two more runs in the top of the seventh. Greenville won it in the bottom of the seventh with help from a hit batter, two wild pitches and a game-ending single.
Cornell got two hits apiece from Matthew Shimanovsky (Niles, Ill./Niles West), Ryan Clausen (Clinton/Clinton) and Ryan Nordtvedt (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park). Shimanovsky and Matt Pfister (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) each scored three times.
The Rams gave up five unearned runs in the 10-2 opening-game loss to Greenville. Pfister and Bartine collected two hits apiece, while Pfister also scored twice. Adam Butler (Lincolnwood, Ill./Niles West) took the loss, striking out five in 3 2/3 innings.
Bartine had a big day at the plate from the leadoff spot against Fontbonne (2-2), going 5 for 8 with two runs scored. He accounted for three of the team's hits in the 7-3 loss in the opener. The Rams took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the third before the Griffins struck for seven runs in their next three at-bats. Patzke struck out four batters in two innings of relief.
Bartine was dealt the loss in the nightcap with Fontbonne, which broke the game open with a seven-run second inning. Only two of the nine runs he allowed were earned over four innings. Bartine added two hits and scored a run. Patzke and Pfister drove in Cornell's two runs.
