PRINCETON, N.J. — Princeton swept both games of Friday's doubleheader at Clarke Field with 4-3 victories over the Cornell baseball team in the first pair of Ivy League contests of the 2024 season on Friday afternoon.

The Big Red fell to 2-11 overall on the year while Princeton upped its mark to 6-12.

GAME ONE RECAP
Princeton took the opening game of Friday's doubleheader after Caden Shapiro drew a two-out walk with the bases loaded in the 10th inning to give the Tigers a walk-off victory over Cornell.

Shapiro concluded the first game with three RBI as the junior outfielder gave Princeton a 3-2 lead in the sixth, punctuating a three-run inning for the Tigers with a two-run home run to right field.

Junior first baseman Max Jensen was responsible for tying the game in the eighth inning, ultimately forcing extra innings, with his leadoff home run.

Both teams struggled to generate offense early on as Cornell sophomore right-hander Carson Mayfield and Princeton YEAR right-hander Justin Kim engaged in a pitcher's duel, combining to allow three baserunners over the first four innings of play.

Mayfield retired the first 11 Princeton batters he faced before giving up a two-out single to Jake Bold in the fourth before concluding the game with a no-decision after his 6.2 innings of work where he yielding three runs on three hits while striking out a career-high eight batters and did not issue a walk. The lone free pass issued by Mayfield came when he hit a Princeton batter with a pitch in the fifth inning.

Kim allowed just two base hits in the first four innings before Cornell plated the first two runs of the day behind a run scoring on a muffed throw by Princeton second baseman Koonin on a double by junior center fielder Jakobi Davis before an RBI single by junior left fielder John Quinlan.

Jacob Faulkner improved to 2-1 on the season after pitching three shutout innings of relief of Kim, where he scattered a pair of hits while walking one and striking out one Cornell batter.

Freshman left-hander Huxley Holcombe was the losing pitcher of record for Cornell after he was responsible for the game-winning run after being pulled for junior right-hander Chris Ellison. Holcombe gave up one hit while walking one and striking out two Tigers hitters.

GAME TWO RECAP
A three-run eighth inning avenged Princeton's 3-1 deficit and the Tigers staved a Cornell two-out rally in the ninth to solidify its sweep of the visiting Big Red.

Kyle Vinci hit a one-out home run in the eighth to tie the game before an two-out RBI single by Jordan Kelly gave the Tigers the lead.

Cornell opened the contest with the first three runs of the game after freshman catcher Mark Quatrani hit his second home run of the season with a two-run blast to left field in the fourth inning.
 

TIE GAME NO MORE❗

Freshman catcher Mark Quatrani logs his second home run of the season with this two-run blast to left field, giving @CornellBaseball a 2-0 lead over Princeton.

📺: https://t.co/QCxoFglWsG#YellCornell pic.twitter.com/cAfRg4iSYm

— Cornell Big Red (@CornellSports) March 22, 2024

The Big Red's lead was upped to 3-0 on an RBI single by Jensen, who concluded the day going 4-for-4, registering the first four-hit game by a Big Red player on the season.
 

After hitting a game-tying home run in the opening game, @CornellBaseball's Max Jensen collects his third hit of the day with this RBI single to increase the Big Red's lead over Princeton to 3-0 in the fifth❗

📺: https://t.co/QCxoFglWsG#YellCornell pic.twitter.com/DlWj5eOvXZ

— Cornell Big Red (@CornellSports) March 22, 2024

Sophomore left-handed pitcher Noah Keller was sensational in his first start of the season for Cornell, striking out nine batters over his six innings on the rubber. He allowed one run on four hits while issuing a trio of walks in his outing. Junior right-hander Ryan Porter was the losing pitcher of record after allowing Kelly's go-ahead base hit.

Sean Episcope also went six innings for the Tigers, scattering six hits and giving up all three of Cornell's runs. Episcope walked two Big Red batters and had six strikeouts.

Andrew D'Alessio logged the remaining three innings for Princeton, earning his first win of the season.

GAME NOTES
• Princeton increased its lead in the series with Cornell to 161-101-2, while upping its win streak to six games over the Big Red.

• Cornell played an extra innings contest for the first time since posting a 10-9 walk-off victory over Central New York rival Binghamton on April 20, 2022, at Hoy Field, snapping its streak without having a game go to extra innings at 56 games.

• Mayfield's eight strikeouts in the opener was the most by a Cornell pitcher since Luke Yacinich also had eight punchouts against Penn on April 16, 2022. Hours later, Keller's became the first Cornell pitcher with at least nine strikeouts in one appearance since Justin Lewis had 10 against Navy on March 4, 2017.

• The Big Red allowed just four hits in the first game of Friday's twin bill, marking the fewest base hits given up by Cornell pitching in a game since April 14, 2023, against Harvard at O'Donnell Field in Cambridge, Mass.

• Jensen had Cornell's first four-hit game since senior Nathan Waugh collected four base knocks against Princeton in the first game of an April 22 doubleheader last year, also done against Princeton.

UP NEXT
Due to the forecast calling for all-day rain in the Princeton area on Saturday, Cornell and Princeton will play the series finale at Clarke Field on Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch. Sophomore right-hander Ethan Hamill (0-1, 7.43 ERA) will take the ball for the Big Red. Princeton has yet to announce its starting pitcher for Sunday. Game action will broadcast on ESPN+.