Playing on their home field for the first time this season, the Tompkins Cortland Community College baseball team earned a doubleheader split with Erie Community College, winning game one 5-4 before dropping game two 5-0. The Panthers are now 8-9 overall and 1-5 in the West Division. Erie stands at 12-10 overall and 4-2 in the West Division.
Game 1: Tompkins Cortland 5, Erie 4
After having the first three home dates postponed due to the cold and wet spring, the Panthers came out excited to finally play at home. Jake Woods (Cortland/Cortland H.S.) was given the ball in the opener, and he delivered. The sophomore set Erie down in order the first two innings, recording one strikeout, a ground ball to second, and four weak grounders back to the mound. The offense gave the Panthers an early lead, with doubles from Alex Babcock (Cortland/Cortland H.S.) and Storm Grant (Homer/Homer H.S.) setting the stage for an RBI base on balls by Ryan Foody (Tully/Tully H.S.) for a 1-0 first-inning lead.
Erie put its first runner on base in the third with a leadoff single. After Woods retired the next two batters, Erie used a hit and three Panthers errors to score two runs and take a 2-1 lead. While the Panthers were being shut down at the plate, the Kats added two more in the fourth inning to move ahead 4-1.
Heading into the bottom of the fifth, Tompkins Cortland had gone hitless since the first inning, managing just a pair of baserunners. In the fifth, Austin Rourke (Jacksonville, Fla./Terry Parker) led off with a single and moved to second on walk to Chris Micucci (Auburn/Auburn H.S.). When Babcock reached on an error, the Panthers had the bases loaded with no outs. Following a strike out, Garret Hunter (Virginia Beach, Va./Cox H.S.) worked a walk to drive in a run and bring the score to 4-2. Foody followed with a ground ball back to the pitcher, but his throw home to try to get the lead runner was wild, allowing both Micucci and Babcock to score, tying the game at 4-4 and moving Hunter all the way to third. With one out, Foody intentionally got in a rundown between first and second, allowing Hunter to come home with the go-ahead run. The inning ended with the Panthers having scored four runs on just one hit, taking a 5-4 lead.
Woods worked a scoreless sixth, and after issuing his first walk of the day to lead off the seventh, turned the ball over to closer Evan Plante (Albany/Christian Brother Academy). Plante came in and slammed the door, recording strikeouts on the next three hitters to seal the win.
Woods earned the win to improve to 3-1 on the year. Just two of the four runs he allowed were earned as he threw six innings, striking out three while allowing eight hits. Plante's save was his third.
Game 2: Erie 5, Tompkins Cortland 0
The Panthers received another well-pitched game in the nightcap, but the offense couldn't solve the Erie pitcher. After an error and a walk put two Panthers on base in the first inning, 15 straight batters were retired, including 11 by strikeout. Tompkins Cortland recorded its first hit with two outs in the sixth inning when Babcock ripped a clean single to right-center. Two more would reach base in the seventh inning via walks, but the Panthers were shutout for the first time this season.
On the mound, Ridge Walker (Moravia H.S./Moravia) worked the first four innings, striking out five while allowing only two hits. He issued five walks, contributing to the two runs he allowed before exiting the game. A trio of relievers worked the last three innings, keeping the game close until allowing three runs in the sixth to make the score 5-0.
The win in game one snapped a five-game skid for the Panthers, and earned the team its first West Division win this season. The two teams square off again Sunday in Buffalo.