LITTLE FALLS, N.J. — Victories of 11-9 and 12-6 by the Penn baseball team over Cornell aided the Quakers to their second consecutive Ivy League Baseball Tournament title and will represent the Ivy League for a third consecutive season in the upcoming NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.
The 2024 campaign for Cornell (17-21) came to an end Monday at Yogi Berra Stadium with the pair of setbacks to the Quakers (24-23), who won three consecutive games out of the losers bracket en route ot their title.
GAME ONE RECAP
Connor Chavez's seventh-inning three-run home run broke open an 8-8 tie to give Penn an 11-8 victory over Cornell, forcing a winner-take-all nightcap to crown the Ivy League Baseball Tournament champion.
Chavez paced the Quakers offense by going 3-for-4 with four runs scored and three of his four RBI coming on his go-ahead home run. Wyatt Henseler also had a three-hit day for Penn, going 3-for-5. Penn center fielder Ryan Taylor also drove in four Quakers runs, going 1-for-3 with a double and a sacrifice fly.
Freshman shortstop
Kevin Hager and sophomore right fielder
Caden Wildman each hit a home run and drove in three runs apiece for Cornell. Senior first baseman
Braden Mack also logged multiple RBI, driving in a pair of runs. Freshman catcher
Mark Quatrani had a three-hit day, going 3-for-4 at the plate.
Cornell trailed by as many as six runs in the second inning, but responded with six unanswered runs of its own across the third and fourth innings to tie the game.
The Big Red used an offensive barrage to cut the six-run deficit to just one as the first five and six of the first seven batters to step up to the plate registered base knocks. Mack singled home two runs before an RBI groundout by senior second baseman
Matt Barnhorst with the bases loaded plated another Cornell run. Wildman capped Cornell's five-run frame with a two-RBI single down the left-field line.
A fourth-inning sacrifice fly by Hager brought the game tied, 6-6, only to be countered by a Penn run scoring on a double play in the home half of the inning.
Hager turned the Quakers' one-run lead into a one-run advantage for the Big Red with his second two-run home run in as many days at Yogi Berra Stadium, which is 25 miles north of his hometown of Berkeley Heights, N.J.
Cornell's lead would not last long as a sacrifice fly by Taylor in the bottom of the sixth tied the game, 8-8, setting up Chavez's go-ahead three-run blast in the seventh.
Wildman hit a one-out home run over the batter's eye in center field, hoping to spark a ninth-inning rally for Cornell, but the Big Red would leave the tying run at the plate.
GAME TWO RECAP
Picking up where he left off from the first game of the day, Chavez went 4-for-6 with two doubles, two runs scored, and an RBI. Henseler, the unanimous Ivy League Player of the Year, was joined by Asa Wilson by registering three RBI in the 12-6 victory in the nightcap.
Quatrani reached base in all five of his plate appearances, leading the team with his three-hit performance. Junior left fielder
John Quinlan, senior catcher
Nathan Waugh, and freshman third baseman
Luke Johnson all had two-hit days for the Big Red. Waugh and senior infielder
Max Jensen each had two RBI.
Henseler opened the scoring in the first inning behind a two-run home run over the left-center field scoreboard, which was his 22nd blast of the season, becoming the single-season home run leader in EIBL/Ivy League history.
A wild pitch thrown by Penn starting pitcher Marty Coyne with the bases loaded in the third inning enabled all three Cornell baserunners to advance 90 feet, leading Waugh to score the Big Red's first game of the game.
Another three-run inning by Penn increased the Quakers lead to 6-1 in the fourth inning as a wild pitch led to an RBI single by Henseler and a bases-loaded walk drawn by Taylor.
Quinlan trimmed Penn's lead to 6-2 in the home half of fourth with an RBI double that plated junior center fielder
Jakobi Davis.
Penn regained its five-run lead in the fifth with an RBI double by Chavez, which was retailiated with a four-run sixth inning to cut the Quakers' lead to 7-6.
A two-RBI double down the left-field line by Waugh made it a 7-4 contest before Jensen clubbed a two-run home run to right-center field.
Cornell had a chance to tie or take the lead in the bottom of the seventh but stranded runners at first and second base. The Big Red had runners at first and second with one out but Penn's Will Tobin and Danny Heintz combined to induce a pair of flyouts to prevented any change in scoring.
A bases-clearing triple by Wilson to dead-center field capped a five-run eighth inning for Penn that put the Quakers ahead, 12-6.
Eli Trop shut Cornell's offense down in the ninth, producing a 1-2-3 inning that included striking out a pair of Big Red batters.
GAME NOTES
• Monday was the 297th and 298th all-time meetings between Penn and Cornell, which was the fifth and sixth games between the Ancient Eight programs this season. With the pair of victories, Penn improved to 167-129-2 all-time over Cornell and has won eight of the last 12 meetings over the Big Red.
• Waugh extended his on-base streak to 42 games after reaching safely in both games, matching Nathan Ford's 42-game on-base streak during the 2008 and 2009 seasons for the longest on-base streak on record in program history.
• After scoring three times on Monday, Waugh became the first player to register 40-plus runs in a season since Brian Kaufman (45) in 2006.
MOST RUNS SCORED IN A SEASON
Cornell Program History
• 46, Erik Rico (2002)
• 45, Brian Kaufman (2006)
• 42, Dan Autiello (1984)
• 42, John Kresho (1988)
• 41, Dave Johnson (1977)
• 41, Marlin McPhail (1982)
• 40, John Kresho (1990)
• 40, Vince Santo (2002)
• 40, Nathan Waugh (2024)
• Quinlan's two-hit game in the nightcap increased his season total for hits to 56, tying Ken Veenema (1977) for the fifth-most hits by a Cornell player in a season.
MOST HITS IN A SEASON
Cornell Program History
• 61, Guy Leach (1988)
• 59, Nathan Ford (2008)
• 57, Erik Rico (2002)
• 57, Brian Billigen (2012)
• 56, Ken Veenema (1977)
• 56, John Quinlan (2024)
• 54, Chico Bengochea (1979)
• 54, Nathan Ford (2009)
• Jensen concludes the season with a 18-game hit streak after registering base hits in both games on Monday.
SEASON MILESTONES
• Cornell concludes the 2024 season with 52 home runs, shattering the previous record of 38 set during thr 2009 season.
MOST HOME RUNS IN A SEASON
Cornell Program History
1. 52 (2024)
2. 38 (2009)
3. 35 (1999)
4. 34 (2001)
5. 33 (2022)
• Another program record established by Cornell was in best fielding percentage as the Big Red posted a .975 fielding clip, committing just 35 errors in 1407 fielding chances. The 35 errors stand as the sixth-fewest by a team in one season.
BEST SINGLE-SEASON FIELDING PERCENTAGE
Cornell Program History
1. .975 (993 putouts, 379 assists, 35 errors) — 2024
2. .971 (921 putouts, 397 assists, 39 errors) — 2017
3. .970 (915 putouts, 404 assists, 41 errors) — 2007
4. .968 (897 putouts, 417 assists, 44 errors) — 1991
5. .967 (979 putouts, 349 assists, 46 errors) — 2019
• The Big Red tied the program record for the most RBI in a season (250), matching the output produced by the 2012 squad.
MOST RBI IN A SEASON
Cornell Program History
T1. 250 (2012)
T1. 250 (2024)
3. 240 (1984)
4. 234 (1981)
5. 223 (1991)
• This year's team became just the second team in Cornell program history to amass 600 total bases, joining the 2012 squad, which assumes the program record for total bases with 651.
MOST TOTAL BASES IN A SEASON
Cornell Program History
1. 651 (2012)
2. 618 (2024)
3. 581 (2009)
4. 579 (1985)
5. 566 (1977)
• The .453 slugging percentage produced by Cornell was the second-highest in program history, only trailing the .456 figure accomplished during the 1982 campaign.
HIGHEST SINGLE-SEASON SLUGGING PERCENTAGE
Cornell Program History
1. .456 (1982)
2. .453 (2024)
3. .449 (1981)
4. .445 (1984)
5. .444 (2009)
• Quatrani concludes the season tied with Eric Kirby (1995) and Erik Rico (2002) for the second-most home runs hit by a player in a single season. Quatrani, along with Chris Cruz's 12-home run season in 2012, is one of four players in program history with a 10-home run season. The 11 home runs are the most by a freshman player in program history, besting a six-home run season by Bill Walkenbach in 1995.
MOST HOME RUNS IN A SEASON
Cornell Program History
1. 12, Chris Cruz (2012)
T2. 11, Eric Kirby (1995)
T2. 11, Erik Rico (2002)
T2. 11, Mark Quatrani (2024)
• Along with his home run total, Quatrani also finished tied with Guy Leach (1988) for the second-most RBI by a player in a single season. Quatrani fell just two RBI shy of matching Pete Watzka's record of 45 RBI that was set in 1971.
MOST RBI IN A SEASON
Cornell Program History
1. 45, Pete Watzka (1971)
T2. 43, Guy Leach (1988)
T2. 43, Mark Quatrani (2024)
T4. 42, John DeMayo (1982)
T4. 42, Erik Rico (2002)
• Quatrani concludes the 2024 season with a .714 slugging percentage, making him one of two Cornell players in program history with a slugging percentager of at least .700, joining Erik Rico (.768) in 2002.
HIGHEST SLUGGING PERCENTAGE IN A SEASON
Cornell Program History
1. .768, Erik Rico (2002)
2. .714, Mark Quatrani (2024)
3. .683, Jamie Blattstein (1992)
4. .676, Erik Rico (2001)
T5. .667, Mike Kalfopoulos (1984)
T5. .667, Brian Kaufman (2006)
• Quatrani's .492 on-base percentage ranks as thre fifth-highest by a Cornell player in program history and is the highest since Jamie Blattstein (.503) in 1992.
HIGHEST ON-BASE PERCENTAGE IN A SEASON
Cornell Program History
1. .532, Mike Seagram (1984)
2. .530, John Kresho (1991)
3. .513, John Kresho (1988)
4. .503, Jamie Blattstein (1992)
5. .4924, Mark Quatrani (2024)
6. .4922, Michael Riff (1967)
• Across the 37 games played, Cornell scored 270 runs, which ranks as the third-most in a single season. Only the 1984 and 2012 squads had score more runs in a season, posting 279
MOST RUNS IN A SEASON
Cornell Program History
T1. 279 (1982)
T1. 279 (2012)
3. 270 (2024)
4. 265 (1977)
5. 260 (1991)
• Cornell players were hit by 55 pitches this season, standing as the third-most by a team in a single season.
MOST TIMES HIT BY A PITCH IN A SEASON
Cornell Program History
1. 58 (2006)
2. 56 (2012)
3. 55 (2024)
4. 54 (2010)
T5. 42 (2008)
T5. 42 (2009)
• The Big Red registered 393 hits on the season, standing as the fourth-most in a single season and were the most since the 2012 squad set the program record with 453 base knocks.
MOST HITS IN A SEASON
Cornell Program History
1. 453 (2012)
2. 416 (1977)
3. 402 (1978)
4. 393 (2024)
5. 385 (1985)
T6. 377 (1981)
T6. 377 (1984)
• Cornell pitching stuck out 253 batters on the season, marking the eighth-most punchouts by Big Red hurlers in a season.
MOST STRIKEOUTS IN A SEASON
Cornell Program History
T1. 277 (1973)
T1. 277 (2003)
3. 261 (2002)
4. 260 (2015)
5. 257 (2004)
6. 256 (2014)
7. 254 (2009)
8. 253 (2024)
T9. 249 (2012)
T9. 249 (2019)
• Cornell's .288 season batting average ranks as the 10th-best in program history and is the highest clip produced by the Big Red since 2017 (.295).
HIGHEST BATTING AVERAGE IN A SEASON
Cornell Program History
1. .309 (1981)
2. .308 (1982)
3. .308 (1984)
4. .306 (1991)
5. .300 (1979)
6. .297 (1977)
7. .297 (2009)
8. .295 (2017)
9. .292 (1995)
10. .288 (2024)
CAREER MILESTONES
• Waugh concludes his Cornell career with the sixth-most home runs by a Big Red player.
MOST HOME RUNS IN A CAREER
Cornell Program History
1. 25, Chris Cruz (2011-14)
T2. 21, Gary Kaczor (1977-80)
T2. 21, Bill Walkenbach (1995-98)
T4. 20, Brian Kaufman (2005-08)
T4. 20, Brian Billigen (2009-12)
6. 18, Nathan Waugh (2021-24)
