ITHACA, N.Y. – Hoy Field will be the setting for an Ivy League baseball showdown between Cornell and Yale this weekend. The teams will face off in a three-game series composed of a doubleheader starting at 11:30 a.m. Saturday and the series finale at noon on Sunday.

The Big Red enters the weekend with a 3-11 record. Cornell dropped all three of this past weekend's contests against Harvard, including a heartbreaking 12-11 defeat in the final game of that series. Cornell cruised to an 8-2 lead after six innings behind consecutive RBI base hits by Nathan Waugh and Austin Flematti in the first, Mike Jensen's three-RBI double in the fifth, three additional runs scored on separate wild pitches in the sixth, and a strong pitching performance from senior starter Luke Yacinich. Harvard fought back in the final three frames, plating 10 runs on eight hits, three walks, two hit batsmen, and a catcher's interference, taking a one-run lead in the top of the ninth inning. Cornell got the tying run to first base in the bottom half of the ninth, but was unable to score to send it to extras.

Junior Joe Hollerbach has been a spark for the Big Red offensively, filling the stat sheet with a .345 batting average, five doubles, three home runs, and nine runs batted in. Junior outfielder Guy Wils has been a menace on the basepaths, leading the Big Red with five stolen bases on six attempts, and Ryan Ross continues to mash, leading the team with a .760 slugging percentage and an eye-popping 1.198 OPS.

Luke Yacinich and Kevin Cushing have been impressive on the bump for Cornell in Ivy league play this season, with Yacinich only allowing two earned runs through six innings in his previous start and Cushing delivering four and a third scoreless innings against Harvard this past weekend.

Yale will bring an 12-6 overall record into this weekend's series, with its 3-0 Ivy League mark placing it atop the standings. The Bulldogs are hot, winning five in a row and 10 of their past 12 contests, including a three-game sweep of Ivy League rival Princeton this past weekend. Yale won the opener against Princeton in a pitcher's duel by a score of 3-2 and utilized offensive explosions in the remaining two games, winning by scores 14-8 and 13-6. In their most recent action, Yale picked up a 5-1 midweek win over Sacred Heart.

Mike Walsh and Colton Shaw have been prominent starting pitchers for the Bulldogs, posting earned run averages of 1.50 and 3.86 in Ivy League play, respectively.  Jimmy Chatfield (.349) and Mason LaPlante (.310) have led the charge in the batter's box for Yale, with the duo compiling a combined 29 runs batted in. The Bulldogs have had success on the basepaths so far this season, as four different players have registered at least five stolen bases.