ITHACA, N.Y. -- Freshman Michael Byrne surrendered just one run on two hits over eight innings in his first Ivy League start on Saturday, helping the baseball team to a 4-2 victory over Penn in the second game of a doubleheader at Hoy Field after the Quakers won the opener, 6-0. Sophomores JD Whetsel and Kevin Tatum had four hits apiece for the Big Red.

The split leaves the Big Red and Quakers four games behind Columbia for the Ivy League Lou Gehrig Division lead, after the Lions swept second-place Princeton on Saturday.  That sets the stage for Sunday's doubleheader between Cornell and Penn, which starts at noon at Hoy Field, pivotal for both teams as they try to keep their championship ambitions alive.

Game 1 - Penn 6, Cornell 0 - Box Score
Connor Cuff tossed a five-hit shutout for Penn in the opener. The game was within reach for the Big Red until the Quakers pushed three insurance runs across in the top of the seventh.

Whetsel was 2-for-2 with a walk and two stolen bases to lead the offensive effort for the Big Red. The team's hits came one apiece in the first five innings, and all five runners were later stranded in scoring position. Tatum and senior Conor McCabe each had doubles and later advanced to third, but couldn't score.

Sophomore Nick Busto took the loss, but he settled down after Penn took a 3-0 lead in the third. The Big Red lefty retired to 12 out of 13 batters in a stretch from the third to the sixth innings -- helped out by a diving play by second baseman Brenton Peters on a groundout in the fiifh.

Freshman Eliot Lowell had the Big Red's fifth and final hit after getting the start at third base.

Game 2 - Cornell 4, Penn 2 - Box Score
Byrne worked eight solid innings to pace the Big Red to a win in the nightcap. The first batter he faced singled and eventually came around to score on a two-out single by Rick Brebner in the top of the first to give the Quakers a quick 1-0 lead.

But that was pretty much all Byrne would yield. He no-hit Penn for the next seven innings, allowing just three batters to reach on a pair of walks and a hit by pitch. At one point, he retired 16 straight.

Offensively, Tatum starred by going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a run scored from the three-hole. Whetsel and Tom D'Alessandro also had two hits apiece.

The bottom of the order helped Cornell take a 2-1 lead in the second. Senior Phil Mullan, started just his third game of the season, hit a two-out single to drive in D'Alessandro from second. Just as importantly, Mullan advanced to second on the throw home, which then enabled him to score the go-ahead run on senior Chris Burke's single to right.

The Big Red then tacked on two important runs in the sixth. Tatum led off with his second double, then moved up to third on senior Conor McCabe's single to right-center. D'Alessandro followed with another single, plating Tatum to make the score 3-1. Senior Brenton Peters dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move D'Alessandro and McCabe to second and third. Junior Ryan Plantier then hit a sacrifice fly to left for his team-leading 20th RBI, as McCabe trotted home from third.

Sophomore Eric Upton closed out the game by working the ninth to earn his second save. Penn scored one run in the frame, but Upton then induced a game-ending groundout back to the mound to leave the potential tying run stranded at first.