BRISTOL, Conn. -- Cornell baseball's rising senior Jakobi Davis has spent his summer in Danbury, Conn., playing ball with the Danbury Westerners. Last week, the outfielder was called up to the NECBL Home Run Derby to compete against 13 other players from across the league to be crowned champion. Davis hammered 12 balls over the fence over two rounds, claiming the 2024 NECBL Home Run Derby champion title.

The derby was conducted in a two-round format. In the first round, all 13 athletes had the chance to hit as many homers as they could in three minutes. The top two would advance to the championship round, where their score reset, and the duo would battle it out for the crown.

Davis led off the derby with a bang, leading Round 1 with nine home runs, with three consecutive bombs in three swings. three runs higher than the next-highest scorer. He wrapped up the championship round with three homers, clinching the top spot and surpassing Scott Seeker, who hit two. The Cornell slugger walked it off early, having secured the victory with plenty of time to spare; over a minute and a half left in the round. Davis blasted his first homer on just his second swing, sending a towering shot over the right-field wall. He quickly followed up with his second and third homers, demonstrating he could have likely hit even more if needed. His performance made him the second consecutive Danbury Westerner to snag the derby title and the third in the team's history.

Davis also beat out fellow Cornellian, Nathan Waugh '24, who substituted in place of the invite given to Big Red rising senior Max Jensen. Waugh went yard three times to earn a spot on the top half of the leaderboard but just missed the championship round.