A win in the nightcap earned the Tompkins Cortland Community College baseball team a split of their doubleheader with Mohawk Valley Community College Thursday. After dropping their home opener by a score of 5-2, the Panthers came back and took game two, 5-3. The Panthers are now 2-3 overall and 1-1 in division play. Mohawk Valley is 5-5 overall and in division.

Game One: Mohawk Valley 5, Tompkins Cortland 2

Mohawk Valley got on the board first, thanks to two-out RBI in the second and third innings. The Panthers responded in the bottom of the third with Vinny Perrotta (New Hartford/Vinny Hartford H.S.) reaching on an error and then coming around to score on a single by Ethan Buckley (Bath/Haverling H.S.). Buckley moved to third on a Luke Ough (Edmeston/Edmeston, N.Y.) single before coming in to score the tying run on a wild pitch.

The tie didn't last long as the Hawks regained the lead with two runs in the fourth and then added an insurance run in the sixth. Other than the third inning, the home team had a tough time getting the offense in sync in game one. The Panthers wasn't able to get the leadoff hitter on base in any inning, and the team struck out 14 times in seven innings. Buckley and Ough each had two singles, but Garrett Fox (Tully/Tully H.S.) registered the only other hit.  

Pitcher Nick Cody (Cortland/Cortland H.S.) was tagged with the loss, allowing four runs – two earned – over 3 1/3 innings. Logan Kaufman (Hobart/South Kortright H.S.) was effective in his pitching debut, allowing one run over the final 3 2/3.

Game Two: Tompkins Cortland 5, Mohawk Valley 3

Unlike the opener, the Panthers were able to group some hits together in game two. In the third inning, Perrotta, Buckley, and Ough went double, single, double – all with two outs – to put two runs on the board. Two more crossed home in the fourth on two-out RBI by Christopher Pickert (McGraw/McGraw H.S.) and Fox, making it 4-0. A pair of Mohawk Valley errors led to another run in the fifth inning, putting the Panthers up 5-0 heading to the sixth inning.

The Hawks staged a rally in the sixth, with the first three hitters reaching, knocking starting pitcher Buckley out of the game with the lead down to 5-2. Hyeonho Cho (Daejeon, South Korea/Sekwang) came on in relief, allowing a sacrifice fly to score the third run of the inning, but shutting down the rally with the Panthers still holding the lead. After allowing a leadoff single in the seventh, a sparkling defensive play at second base by Kaufman helped douse any threat of a comeback as Cho got the final outs without letting a runner past first base.

After managing just five hits in the opener, the Panthers doubled that total in the second game. Perrotta (2-for-4, 2B), Fox (2-for-3, RBI, 3B), and Jaden Nelomes (Rochester/Churchville-Chili H.S.) (2-for-2, 2B) each had two hits to pace the attack.

Buckley picked up the win with five innings of work, allowing three runs – two earned. Cho recorded a save, tossing two scoreless innings.

Looking ahead

The Panthers and Hawks play a doubleheader Saturday in Utica.