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Box Score 2 Lawson's Bulldog Blast Lifts Yale
West Haven - The Yale baseball team is simply rolling right now. The Bulldogs are finding ways to win, whether it's with defense, dominating pitching or delivering at the plate.
On Sunday, some late-game heroics lifted Yale to a sweep of Cornell at historic Yale Field.
Brent Lawson's walk-off two-run homer in the 11th inning highlighted the Bulldogs 4-2 victory over the Big Red in the opener. Then it was Harrison White's RBI single in the 10th that gave Yale a 9-8 comeback win over Cornell in the finale.
"Twenty-one innings today, there was a lot of free baseball," Yale coach John Stuper said. "But obviously it was a very good weekend for us."
With the wins, Yale (11-18-1, 6-2 Ivy) has won five straight and sits in the driver seat of the Ivy League's Red Rolfe Division.
Yale will play at Sacred Heart on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. and then return to conference action with doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday at Yale Field against rival Harvard.
Freshman Griffin Dey (3-0) tossed 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win in the first game on Sunday. Lawson and Tom O'Neill both had two hits to lead the offense.
Yale jumped out to a 2-0 lead, as Tim DeGraw drove in a run with a single in the second and then Lawson scored on a wild pitch in the fourth.
Cornell responded and tied the game at 2 in the fifth. But Lawson's Bulldog Blast to left-center field ultimately gave Yale the victory.
"The nice thing about it, it was a no-doubter," Stuper said. "He's been swinging the bat all year. That was a huge way to win that game."
Freshman Kumar Nambiar (1-4) didn't allow a hit over 2 1/3 to pick up his first victory for Yale in the second game. DeGraw went 3-for-5 and Simon Whiteman added two hits and two RBIs. Richard Slenker and Lawson also chipped in with two hits and an RBI.
Yale trailed 8-4 entering the eighth inning. That deficit, however, wasn't big enough to keep the Bulldogs from biting back. Benny Wanger's RBI groundout plated Nate Adams to cap a four-run frame and tie the game at 8.
That set the tone for another walk-off win. Whiteman led off the 10th using his speed to reach on an error. Then later in the frame, White's single to right-center field scored Whiteman for the winning run.
"There's still a long way to go," Stuper said. "I preach to these guys, you can't control what anyone else is doing. we just have to keep winning games and things will take care of themselves. Am I happy that we're at the top of the division? Yes. This is a good group. It's a group of young guys, but some of the older guys have really mentored them and it's been nice to see. We just have to keep it going."
Filed by Chris Hunn, Yale Sports Publicity
