AUBURNDALE, FL – The Vassar baseball team dropped a 1-7 decision to Cornell College in its season opener on Sunday at the RussMatt Invitational. The Brewers fall to 0-1, while the Rams earn their first win to go to 1-3 overall.

The first two innings were a pitching battle with only junior Ezra Caspi (Holmdel, NJ) reaching first base on a walk. At the top of the second, junior Bryce Grathwohl (Cutchogue, NY) struck out two batters to close the inning. Cornell answered in the third when pitcher Kole Hinrichsen struck out all three Brewers.

The Rams had two outs at the bottom of the third before Kale Rose reached first base on a Vassar fielding error, while Darren Mancke advanced to second. Seth Beals then singled down left field to allow Mancke to score. The next Cornell batter flew out as the Rams took the one-run lead.

In the fourth, it was another short inning for the Brewers, but Vassar heated up in the fifth. Reid Lapekas (McKinney, TX) singled and reached second after Sam Brinster (Long Beach, NY) grounded out. Then Adam Talwalkar (Lexington, KY) walked, and the bases got loaded when Ty Langford (Tujunga, CA) was hit by a pitch. However, Vassar could not reach home as the next batter flew out.

Caspi doubled to start the sixth inning and then reached third on a passed ball. He then scored to tie 1-1 on a wild pitch. Junior Andrew Kanellie (Burke, VA) tacked a double before the inning ended.

Cornell scored three more runs in the following inning and then scored again in the seventh and eighth. The Brewers struggled against the Rams' pitching after that, with only Caspi reaching a base on a single in the ninth.

Grathwohl (0-1) pitched 4.0 innings, struck out five batters, and gave up three hits and one run.

Hinrichsen (1-0) pitched 5.0 innings with eight strikeouts, one hit, and zero runs for the Rams.

Vassar is back in action tomorrow to play Wentworth Institute of Technology in a doubleheader starting at 3:30 p.m. on Lake Myrtle Field 8.