Second baseman Jason Hunter ’14 doubled home shortstop Cale Hanson ’14 to end the game with one out in the bottom of the 12th inning, and the Elis pulled a 5–4 win over Holy Cross on Tuesday night.
The RBI was Hunter’s second of the game. In the bottom of the fifth, he drove home catcher Ryan Brenner ’12 with another double to cut Yale’s deficit to 3–2. Hunter finished the day 3–for-5 with two doubles and a triple.
“[Chris Piwinski ’13] told me ‘Win it just like you’re on center court [at Wimbledon]’,” Hunter said. “That was it. He was in my head and I heard him in the dugout yelling ‘Wimbledon!’ ”
Hunter was not the only player hitting the ball well on Tuesday. The first four Bulldog hitters in the lineup collected ten of Yale’s eleven hits and drove in all five runs. After falling behind 3–0 through three innings, the Elis charged back to regain the lead in the fifth. Outfielder Joe Lubanski ’15 led off the inning with a walk but was sitting on third with two outs when the top of the order came up. Brenner drove him in with a single — the first of four straight Yale hits — and then Fortunato’s two-run double brought Yale into the lead.
“Ryan, Cale and Jake just had three hits in a row that got us back in the game,” Fortunato said. “I was just trying to get them in.”
Although the Crusaders (26–18, 11–5 Patriot) tied the game in the top of the sixth, Yale’s pitchers kept the Elis in the game until Hunter ended it with his heroic hit.
Four Bulldog hurlers combined to throw 9.2 innings while striking out ten and giving up the lone run in the sixth.
Greg Lyons ’12 took the mound with runners on first and second and only one out with Yale (10–30-1, 2–14 Ivy) down three in the third, but he induced an inning-ending double play that initiated Yale’s defensive dominance.
Hanson finished the game by switching from short to pitcher and throwing two scoreless frames to earn his second win of the season. Despite pitching in just three games, Hanson is second on the team in wins behind Eric Schultz’s ’12 four.
“I was just trying not to walk anybody to be honest,” Hanson said. “Every time I go out [to pitch] I’m just kind of winging it.”
The win ends the Bulldogs’ nonconference schedule on a high note as the team heads into the final weekend of the season. Yale will host a doubleheader against Brown (8–30, 5–11 Ivy) on Saturday before traveling to Providence to end the season with a twin bill against the Bears on Sunday.