ITHACA, N.Y. — A five-run eighth inning by Cornell in the latter game of Friday's doubleheader against Penn aided the Big Red to an 11-9 victory — its first win at the program's brand-new off-campus facility Booth Field.
The impressive offensive performance by the Big Red in the eighth inning was highlighted by an opposite-field three-run home run by senior right fielder Sam Kaplan. Sophomore first baseman Max Jensen and junior catcher Nathan Waugh had RBI singles before the round-tripper for Cornell (7-24, 6-11 Ivy).
Game One Recap
Penn took the opening game, 5-4, following a two-run sixth inning. A fielding error led the go-ahead run to score the Quakers (24-14, 12-5 Ivy), who also tacked on an RBI double to ensure the victory.
Wyatt Henseler and Davis Baker each had two hits for Penn. Ryan Taylor, who drove in a Penn-leading two runs, opened the scoring with a two-run double to the left-center field gap in the second inning.
Cornell responded with a three-run frame to take its only lead of the game. Senior third baseman Joe Hollerbach hit a home run to left-center field to plate the Big Red's first run.
Sophomore center fielder
Jakobi Davis registered a sacrifice fly to tie the game, setting up sophomore shortstop
Ryan Porter with an RBI double down the left-field line to take the lead.
Cole Palis drove in Penn's first of three unanswered runs in the fourth when his two-out RBI double to left field tied the game at 3-all.
Following the run scoring on a fielding error and an RBI double by Jackson Appel in the sixth, Cornell tried to spark a rally in the sixth when a Ryan Ross walk was bookended by singles by Hollerbach and junior second baseman Matt Barnhorst, loading the bases with one out.
Immediately after a Penn pitching change, Davis popped into an infield fly before a wild pitch by Tobin allowed Hollerbach to score, making it a 5-4 contest. An inning-ending ground out off the bat of Porter ended Cornell's potential rally.
Tommy Delany and Carson Ozmer combined to stymie Cornell's offense over the final three innings, yielding just one hit against. Delany retired all six batters he faced, which included four consecutive strikeouts.
Ozmer recorded his fourth save of the season, while Owen Coady improved to 5-3 after pitching the first 5.1 innings for the Quakers. Coady allowed four runs on five hits while walking five and fanning six.
Senior left-handed pitcher Spencer Edwards was the losing pitcher of record for the Big Red. He also logged 5.1 innings, scattering seven hits and four runs. He walked three and struck out four.
Game Two Recap
An exhilarating game from start to finish, Cornell used a five-run eighth inning to lift Cornell to an 11-9 victory, marking the Big Red's first-ever win at Booth Field.
Kaplan had an impressive outing, going 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI. Hollerbach went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI for the Big Red.
Porter also hit a home run for the Big Red, as Jensen and Davis joined him with multi-hit performances.
Penn jumped out to a three-run lead in the first inning behind a two-run home run by Henseler before Taylor drew a bases-loaded walk.
Henseler's home run was his 27th collegiate home run with Penn, breaking the tie with Tom Olszak (1976-79) for the most in Quaker program record.
Cornell trimmed the lead to 3-1 when a run scored on a fielder's choice by Kaplan.
An RBI double by Palis in the second inning increased the Quakers' lead back to three. Porter trimmed the deficit to 4-3 when he hit a two-out, two-run home run.
A three-run home run by Hollerbach in the third inning gave Cornell a 6-4 lead.
After the Big Red took the lead, Cornell starting pitcher Ethan Hamill escaped danger in the fourth inning after giving up a double and single to start the frame. The freshman right-hander induced a pair of popouts and a strikeout to get out of the inning unharmed.
Hamill faced the minimum in the fifth after he was able to get an inning-ending double play. He also stranded a pair of Penn runners on base in the sixth after hitting a batter and issuing a two-out walk.
Over his six innings of work, Hamill allowed nine hits, and four runs, walking three and striking out three.
Penn cut into Cornell's lead in the seventh off freshman right-handed reliever Beck Urofsky as a sacrifice fly by Ben Miller made it a 6-5 contest. Appel hit a two-run home run off Porter — who came in from shortstop to pitch — to put the Quakers ahead.
After a pitch hit Porter to open the home half of the eighth, he advanced 90 feet after a wild pitch by Penn reliever Brian Zeldin. Cornell then recorded five straight base hits, ultimately putting the Big Red ahead 11-7. Jensen and Waugh had RBI singles, setting up Kaplan for a three-run home run. Cornell had 10 batters come up to the plate in the inning, logging five runs on six hits.
An RBI single by Jarrett Pokrovsky and an RBI fielder's choice made it an 11-9 contest, but Porter logged his first win of the season after getting a flyout and strikeout to end the contest.
Pokrovsky went 3-for-5 for Penn in the setback, while Appel and Henseler both have two hits and two RBI.
Porter pitched the final two innings for Cornell to earn his first collegiate victory.
Zeldin was the losing pitcher for Penn after allowing five runs on seven hits in 1.2 innings of relief.
Cole Zaffiro started for Penn, pitching 5.2 innings, allowing eight hits and six runs while walking two and striking out seven.
Game Notes
• Friday was the 290th and 291st games between Cornell and Penn. The Big Red is now 126-163-2 all-time against the Quakers. Cornell has won at least one game in its last 13 home series against Penn.
• Of Cornell's 15 runs scored on Friday, 13 came in multi-run innings. The Big Red has scored 115 of its 155 runs in innings that have featured multiple runs (74.2 percent of run production).
• With its four home runs hit on Friday, Cornell has 26 home runs this season, tied for the 10th-most in program history (26 in 1985). It is the first time Cornell has 25-plus home runs in consecutive seasons since 2009 (hit program-record 38 home runs) and 2010 (30).
• Cornell also stole four bases on Friday, surpassing last season's output (49). The last time Cornell had at least 49 steals in consecutive seasons came in 2012 (55) and 2013 (62). The 50 steals by the Big Red are the most since having 62 stolen bases in 2013.
• Davis recorded his 13th steal of the season, the most by a Big Red player since Tom D'Alessandro (17) and JD Whetsel (15) in 2014.
• Porter's three-hit game was his first since last year on April 24 against Dartmouth.
• Hollerbach has homered in consecutive games for the first time since March 5 and 6, 2022, against Coppin State.
Looking Ahead
Cornell and Penn will play the rubber match of the three-game Ivy League series on Saturday at Booth Field. The start time is tentatively scheduled for 11 a.m. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Prior to Saturday's contest, the Cornell baseball team will honor its senior class with its annual Senior Day celebration.
