PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The four members of the Brown baseball senior class shined as the Bears staged a furious ninth inning rally before walking it off in 10 innings of game two to help sweep Cornell in a Saturday doubleheader.
Senior pitcher Paxton Meyers tossed 7.0 shutout innings in game one to help Brown cruise to an 11-2 win. In game two, senior Quinn Rooks made a leaping catch at the wall to save three runs to end the eighth inning, and scored the winning run two innings later as sophom*ore Mark Henshon delivered a 10th inning walk off single in a 13-12 win.
Senior Charles Crawford reached base in eight of his nine plate appearances on the day with three hits, four walks and a hit by pitch while scoring four runs with two RBIs. Reece Rappoli drove in three runs and scored four times in the doubleheader, including tagging his first home run of the season in game one.
Gunner Boree went 4-for-4 in game one, coming just a double shy of the cycle while scoring three times.
Henshon reached base five times in game two and registered with three RBIs, all coming in the ninth and 10th innings.
GAME TIME CHANGE FOR SUNDAY
The Bears will go for the sweep in tomorrow's season finale, which will now begin at 11 a.m. on ESPN, an hour earlier than originally scheduled due to expected inclement weather.
GAME ONE
Meyers had the out pitch in the in each of the first two innings, getting out of a first-and-third no-out jam in the first with the help of a double play, then induced another twin-killing in the second. Meyers allowed just five hits and four walks while striking out three and throwing 118 pitches in his outing. Carter Rasmussen finished off the game by getting the final four outs, all via strikeouts, without allowing a run.
Brown jumped in front with two runs in the bottom of the second, starting with a solo home run to the opposite field by Boree. Rappoli followed with a single up the middle, and later came in to score on a two-out single by Crawford.
Small ball and more timely hitting helped Brown push across three more runs in the fifth inning. DJ Dillehay led off with a double down the left field line and went to third on a bunt single by Boree. Rappoli laid down a safety squeeze to plate Dillehay, and two batters later, Crawford plated Boree on another squeeze play to make it 4-0. Up next, Conor Cooke jumped on the first pitch and lined it into center field for an RBI knock to plate Rappoli and make it 5-0.
A big two-out single up the middle by Brasher in the sixth inning helped push the lead to 7-0 as Cooke and Crawford crossed the plate. The seniors kept the line moving in the seventh as Rappoli knocked a two-run homer out to left field to make it 9-0.
— Brown Baseball (@BrownU_Baseball) May 4, 2024The senior goes yard on senior day!! 🙌🔥
Reece Rappoli gets his first of the year with this shot to left and makes it 9-0 Bears!
Watch on ESPN+ and NESN+ pic.twitter.com/H3mBusPG0L
After Cornell got on the board with the help of a walk, two hit-by-pitches, a single and a sac fly to pull within 9-2, but Brown got both runs back in the bottom of the eighth as Dillehay had an RBI groundout and Boree delivered his fourth hit of the contest with an RBI triple off the right field wall.
GAME TWO
In the penultimate game of the season, Cornell jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning, batting around and getting six hits in the frame before stranding the bases loaded.
Brown answered right back to tie the score in the bottom of the third. After loading the bases with nobody out, Petersen bounced one through the right side for a two-run single. After a run scored from third on a double steal attempt, Dillehay doubled with two outs and came in the score the tying run on a hustle triple down the left field line by Boree.
Brown answered a Cornell run with three runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth, taking a 7-5 lead on a hard-hit single past the first baseman by Petersen. The lead grew to 8-5 in the fifth on a sac fly by Andrew Hanlon.
Cornell rallied against the bullpen and put up seven runs across the eighth and ninth innings to hold a 12-8 lead going to the bottom of the ninth. Rooks' leaping catch at the wall with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth saved three runs and helped keep it a one-run game at the time, setting the stage for Brown's comeback.
— Brown Baseball (@BrownU_Baseball) May 4, 2024HUGE catch by Quinn Rooks up against the wall saves three runs and keep the deficit at one!!
Cornell up 9-8 headed to the bottom of the 8th pic.twitter.com/hfAeTALdzs
Brown loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth before Henshon plated Crawford and Rooks with a two-run single. Petersen pulled Brown within one on a fielder's choice RBI and two batters later, Henshon scored on a sac fly by Boree to tie the game with a great slide to get around the tag.
— Brown Baseball (@BrownU_Baseball) May 4, 2024TIED GAME! Mark Henshon with a sensational slide around the tag on the sac fly by by Boree! Bears have rallied to tie it with four in the ninth!
B9 | 12-12 pic.twitter.com/cb1Ta7r0Wx
In the 10th, Rooks led off with a hustle double to shallow center field, setting the stage three batters later for Henshon, who lined the walk off hit into left center field.
— Brown Baseball (@BrownU_Baseball) May 4, 2024WALK IT OFF HENSHON!!!!
Bears rally from four down in the ninth and win it in the 10th to sweep the doubleheader!#EverTrue pic.twitter.com/uZaKBbJKXW
Freshman Ryan Oshinskie tossed 1.1 scoreless innings of relief to pick up his first collegiate win.
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