The excitement that normally comes with a season-opener was amplified by the abnormally long off-season as the Tompkins Cortland Community College baseball team took the field Wednesday for the first game in nearly two years. Over the course of the nine-inning game against Corning Community College, the thrill of simply playing again gave way to the thrill of playing well and beating a conference rival as the Panthers beat the Red Barons 9-2.

It was the first game since May 5, 2019 for the Panthers, but not for Corning. The Red Barons came into Wednesday's contest having won both of their previous games this season.

Tompkins Cortland 9, Corning 2

The only player in the lineup that had played a game for the Panthers before today set the tone early. Sophomore Vinny Perrotta (New Hartford/New Hartford H.S.) opened the game with a single from the leadoff spot, eventually coming around to score on a single by Luke Ough (Edmeston/Edmeston H.S.) to put the Panthers up 1-0 in the first inning. Single runs in the second and third innings gave starting pitcher Nick Cody (Cortland/Cortland H.S.) plenty to work with as the freshman cruised through the first two innings, striking out two in each scoreless frame. A couple of walks and stolen bases and a single led to a bumpy third inning, but the freshman recorded another strikeout to end the frame still holding onto the lead, 3-2.

The lead held at 3-2 after a scoreless fourth, but the Panthers blew things open in the fifth. Four hits and two more reaching via hit-by-pitch combined to produce four runs in the fifth, with Garrett Fox (Tully/Tully H.S.) coming through with a two-out, two-run single to cap the inning and put the Panthers up 7-2 in the middle of the fifth. In the bottom of the inning, the Panthers changed pitchers, handing the ball to Caleb Thompson (Cortland/Cortland H.S.). Any hope the Red Barons had about a change in pitchers meaning a change in their luck was quickly dashed as Thompson came out firing, striking out the first and last hitters of another scoreless inning.

The Panthers put the game out of reach in the top of the sixth, scoring one on an error and a groundout and a second run on a homer by Thompson. The 9-2 lead wasn't really threatened over the final four innings as Thompson worked through the eighth and Travers MacNeal (Rochester/Greece Arcadia H.S.) came in for the final three outs in the ninth.

Thompson earned the win with four scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing just two hits. Cody finished with six strikeouts in his four innings, allowing just one hit and two runs.

Perrotta, Ough, and Jaden Nelomes (Rochester/Churchville-Chili H.S.) each had three hits to lead the 17-hit attack. Six different Panthers drove in runs, paced by two each from Thompson and Fox.

Looking ahead

The Panthers are scheduled to play at Jamestown Community College on Saturday, April 3.