ITHACA, N.Y. – On a day at Hoy Field that started with a celebration of Cornell baseball's 150th anniversary, senior Adam Saks made sure Saturday ended with a different sort of celebration. Saks hit a two-run triple with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to drive in the tying and winning runs in a 4-3 victory over Penn in the second game of an Ivy League doubleheader at Hoy Field. The Quakers won the opener, 6-2.
 
Already one of the biggest surprises of the 2019 season for Cornell (10-22, 5-12 Ivy League), Saks added to his lore with the Big Red's third walk-off hit over the last seven seasons. He emerged as the Big Red's starting center fielder after three and half seasons as a pitcher, and with Saturday's performance has now reached base in all 20 starts he's made in the field.
 
The loss keeps Penn (21-15, 9-8) from making up any ground in the Ivy League standings, despite a split of a doubleheader from league leaders Harvard and Columbia on Saturday. The Big Red will continue to try to play the role of spoiler on Sunday, when the teams finish the series with a single game at Hoy Field. Due to weather concerns, the start time of the finale has been pushed back to 2 p.m.
 
Game 1: PENN 6, CORNELL 2 (Box Score)
Despite damp and dreary conditions, the Big Red got off to a fast start. Senior Will Simoneit cranked his team-leading third home run of the season over the fence in left-center in the first inning, then Cornell doubled the lead thanks to some alert base-running in the second. Junior Matt Collins took two bases on a failed pickoff attempt that scooted up the right-field line, which allowed him to score on a sacrifice fly by junior Alex Carnegie.
 
But Quakers starter Christian Scafidi settled in from there, tossing a complete game. The next Big Red hit didn't come until the seventh inning – and by that point, the best offensive team in the Ivy League had already come back to take the lead.
 
Penn tied the game with a pair of manufactured runs in the third, set up by getting the first two batters on base and a successful sacrifice bunt to move them both into scoring position.
 
But all four of the Quakers' runs moving forward were unearned – capitalizing on the Big Red's two errors in the game. The go-ahead run was the first of two in the fifth inning, coming home on a fielding error on a grounder with two outs.
 
Freshman Luke Yacinich was once again solid in long relief, getting out of a jam to prevent further damage of the fifth before working three more quiet frames before the Quakers tacked on a couple more unearned runs in the ninth.
 
Sophomore Jason Apostle and Saks singled to lead off the bottom of the ninth, getting the tying run to the on-deck circle with no outs, but the Quakers held on.
 
Game 2: CORNELL 4, PENN 3 (Box Score)
The Big Red won when trailing after eight innings for the first time this season. While Saks provided the fireworks to cap the rally, Carnegie was pivotal in setting the table. In the top of the ninth, Cornell's second baseman made a spectacular diving catch to his left to snag Craig Larsen's liner and help keep the Quakers from tacking on to its one-run lead.
 
Carnegie then hit a one-out single through the left side of the infield in the bottom of the ninth to get the tying run on. Freshman Austin Flematti followed with a single, spelling the end of the day for Penn starter Mitchell Holcomb. Penn closer Kevin Eaise came on and recorded a strikeout to put the Big Red on its last legs.
 
But Saks attacked the first pitch of the next at-bat, hitting a towering ball into the gap. With so much air under it, it gave a lot of time for either the Quakers' left fielder or center fielder to track it down, but neither could before the latter tumbled over the former with the ball bouncing against the wall. By the time the ball was returned to the infield, Carnegie and Lillios scored to touch off a wild celebration upon Saks' arrival at third base. It was his first collegiate triple.
 
Freshman Austin Flematti's first collegiate home run gave Cornell a 1-0 lead before Penn countered. The first of two Matt O'Neill doubles led to the Quakers first run in the third, then the visitors took the lead with two more in the fourth. Three singles around a sacrifice bunt plated the go-ahead run, then an error brought home the second.
 
Dan Pepicelli, the Ted Thoren Head Coach of Baseball, wasted little time turning the game over to his dominant relievers – and they both delivered. Juniors Andrew Ellison and John Natoli combined for five innings of shutout ball the rest of the way, keeping the Big Red within striking distance. Natoli would ultimately earn the win, his team-leading fourth of the season despite only making one start.
 
Before the dramatic ninth inning, the Big Red needed to plate one run to draw to within 3-2. That came in the fifth after Saks' leadoff double. Senior Josh Arndt followed with a single down the line in right. He finished the game 2-for-4 with that RBI.