PHILADELPHIA – It was a big day for the baseball team's No. 9 hitters and starting pitchers in a Friday doubleheader sweep of Penn, 3-0 and 9-5. Tom D'Alessandro hit his third home run of the season, Ben Swinford was 3-for-5 with three RBI from the last spot in the order in the nightcap, and starters Rick Marks and Brian McAfee surrendered three runs in 13 2/3 innings between them for the Big Red.
 
Kellen Urbon earned saves in both games to set a program record for saves in a season with nine. The old mark of eight was set in 2009 by Dave Rochefort.
 
With the wins, the Big Red ties a program record for Ivy League victories in a season after the league added baseball in 1993. Cornell's total win count is also tied for second-most in the program's 143-season history. It's the fifth time the Big Red has won 26 games in a season, and the first time since 1984.
 
The sweep, coupled with Princeton's split at Columbia, extends the Cornell (26-10-1, 12-2 Ivy) lead in the Ivy League's Lou Gehrig Division to two games with six contests remaining for all of division's four teams. Cornell and Penn (15-19, 6-8 Ivy) are scheduled to square off in another doubleheader at noon Saturday in Mieklejohn Stadium.
 
Game 1 – Cornell 3, Penn 0 – Box Score
D'Alessandro was 2-for-3 with a double and his pivotal two-run homer in the second inning. Brandon Lee led off the inning with a single to right, then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Matt Hall. A groundball led to the second out of the frame, but D'Alessandro then blasted a homer to left to stake the Big Red to a 2-0 lead.
 
That turned out to be more than enough for the Cornell pitching staff, which held its opposition scoreless for the fifth time this season. Marks improved to 4-2 on the season by working around five hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Just two Penn runners advanced into scoring position, but neither got further than second base. Marks' strikeouts — all swinging — ended the second, third and fourth innings.
 
D'Alessandro scored an insurance run in the seventh after leading off the inning with a double to center. Brenton Peters followed with a bunt single that pushed D'Alessandro to third. Marshall Yanzick then dropped down another bunt, allowing D'Alessandro to score on the squeeze while adding an RBI to his 3-for-3 line.
 
Urbon worked around a two-out walk to end the game with a scoreless seventh.
 
Game 2 – Cornell 9, Penn 5 – Box Score
McAfee worked into the eighth inning after being spotted a seven-run lead through three innings, marking the fourth consecutive start in which he's thrown at least seven innings. He's won all four of those starts, improving to a record of 6-0. He now leads the Ivy League in victories, one ahead of teammate Connor Kaufmann and Penn's Vince Voiro – both probable starters for Saturday's games.
 
Three walks and two wild pitches were the kindling for the Big Red's five-run second inning, loading the bases with no out. Ryan Plantier drove in the first run with a single through the right side, then Ben Swinford followed with a two-run single through the left side. After the first two outs of the inning, Brian Billigen then hit a two-run double to cap the scoring in the frame.
 
Cornell then picked up where it left off in the third in bizarre fashion. After the first two batters of the inning were retired, the next five reached base – all without a hit. Plantier reached on an error, then Swinford singled. Peters was hit by a pitch to load the bases, then Yanzick earned an RBI after also getting plunked. Billigen followed with yet another walk, plating Swinford and giving the Big Red a 7-0 lead.

McAfee took his shutout bid into the sixth inning. Spencer Branigan led off with a double and came around to score while McAfee induced three consecutive groundouts to retire the side. The run ended a stretch of 14 consecutive scoreless innings pitched for the Big Red freshman righty.
 
The Big Red answered with two more runs in the ninth to ensure the rout was still on. D'Alessandro hit a one-out double, then Swinford drove him in with a two-out double down the left-field line. Peters followed with a single, plating Swinford and extending the lead to 9-1.
 
The Quakers put together rallies with two runs apiece in the eight and ninth innings, but Urbon again emerged from the bullpen to end the game by inducing a groundout.