ITHACA, N.Y. -- Sophomore Brian McAfee tossed a four-hit complete game in the opener, then junior Chris Cruz went 2-for-4 with a three-run inside-the-park home run in the nightcap to lead the baseball team to a pivotal doubleheader sweep of Penn on Sunday at Hoy Field.

Senior Forrest Crawford started both games -- his first of the season -- coming through with two RBIs. Sophomore Kevin Tatum had his second straight four-hit day, wrapping up a weekend in which he went 8-for-15 (.571 average) with three doubles and five runs.

The Big Red victories, coupled with a Columbia-Princeton split in their Sunday doubleheader, allows Cornell to stay within striking distance of first-place Columbia with four games left in the regular season.

The Big Red trails the Lions by three games, meaning the only way Cornell (20-14, 9-7 Ivy) can win the Ivy League's Lou Gehrig Division outright is by sweeping its four-game series against Princeton (12-25, 9-7) while having Penn (22-17, 7-9) sweep its four-game series with Columbia (20-17, 12-4). Cornell and Columbia can still potentially tie for the division title if the Big Red wins three of four next weekend and the Lions get swept, or if the Big Red sweeps and the Lions lose three of four. In those scenarios, there would be a one-game playoff.

Game 1 - Cornell 3, Penn 1 - Box Score
Seven different batters had hits for the Big Red in support of McAfee, who tossed his first career complete game. The lone Penn run came on Ryan Mincher's one-out double to make the score 1-1 in the top of the second, but McAfee responded by retiring the next 13 batters.

Sophomore JD Whetsel got the Cornell offense primed with a leadoff double in the bottom of the first. He came around to score the day's first run on senior Conor McCabe's one-out single to right.

The Big Red then took the lead for good with two runs in the third. Sophomore Kevin Tatum led off with a single, then moved up to second on McCabe's sacrifice bunt. Junior Tom D'Alessandro hit a two-out single to left to plate Tatum and give Cornell the lead. D'Alessandro then aggressively stole second base to put himself in position to score on Crawford's double into the gap in left-center.

Penn ace Dan Gautieri settled down after that, retiring the next 10 Big Red batters in order. But McAfee wouldn't fold. The Quakers got a pair of two-out baserunners in the sixth, but both were stranded when the Big Red's right-handed starter induced a groundout to third. The potential tying run then came to the plate with two outs in the seventh, but McAfee got Penn pinch-hitter Joey Greco to line out softly to D'Alessandro at shortstop.

Game 2 - Cornell 8, Penn 2 - Box Score
The Big Red built an eight-run lead by the fourth inning in a rout, highlighted by a five-run third. Junior Zach McCulley tied for the team lead with his fourth win, surrendering just one run while scattering eight hits in five innings.

Cornell staked itself to a 2-0 lead in the first. Tatum drew a one-out walk, then motored all the way around to score on Cruz's two-out double to the wall in right. After a D'Alessandro walk, Crawford singled to center to push home Cruz. The Big Red has now scored more runs in the first inning (28) than any other frame this season.

The Big Red then blew the game open in the third, chasing Penn starter Pat Bet. Whetsel was hit by a pitch to start the inning, then he moved up a base on Tatum's single through the right side. McCabe plated Whetsel with a single through the left side, setting the stage for an unconventional three-run home run. Cruz hit a line drive to straight-away center. The Quakers' center fielder couldn't gauge the depth of the drive, making a last-second dive that came up empty and left the ball bouncing toward the wall with no defenders even remotely in the neighborhood. The merry-go-round was in order, with Tatum, McCabe and Cruz all scoring easily to give the Big Red a commanding 6-0 lead.

D'Alessandro scored Cornell's seventh run later in the third after a walk and a pair of stolen bases -- his second and third of the weekend. Senior Chris Burke, who started all four games at catcher this weekend, then drove in D'Alessandro with a two-out single to center.

Tatum was 3-for-4 with three runs in the game, the last of which came in the fourth inning to expand the hosts' lead to 8-0. He led off with a hard-hit single past the shortstop, then moved up to second on a groundout. D'Alessandro's two-out single then brought Tatum home.

Sophomore Brent Jones then earned his first collegiate save by working the final four frames.