ITHACA, N.Y. — Looking to snap its three-game losing streak, the Cornell baseball team (3-5) will head to Towson, Md., for a three-game weekend series against Towson (5-12).
The weekend series will start with a doubleheader on Saturday with an 11 a.m. first pitch. After the twin bill, Cornell and Towson will close out the series on Sunday with a 1 p.m. start. Sunday's game will be the only contest streamed live, airing on FloBaseball.tv.
| Probable Starting Pitchers |
| Day |
Cornell |
Towson |
| Sat. 11 a.m. ET |
RHP Carson Mayfield (1-0, 2.25 ERA) |
RHP Max Simpson (1-3, 3.86 ERA) |
| Sat. 2:30 p.m. ET |
LHP Huxley Holcombe (0-0, 11.25 ERA) |
RHP Andrew Luczak (1-0, 3.38 ERA) |
| Sun. 1 p.m. ET |
RHP Chris Ellison (0-2, 11.05 ERA) |
TBA |
LAST TIME OUT
Cornell is coming off a pair of one-run losses to Michigan State (3-2) and UAB (13-12) at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C., before falling to Winthrop, 10-4, at Founders Field in Rock Hill, S.C., last weekend at the 2025 First Pitch Invitational, which was hosted by Michigan State.
Michigan State won the opening game of the tournament, 3-2, on a one-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning by Spartans shortstop Randy Seymour. The following day, Cornell dropped its second consecutive one-run game as UAB scored four runs in the seventh inning to propel the Blazers to a 13-12 nail-biting win.
In the weekend finale, Winthrop scored six unanswered runs in the first three innings to take an early lead on its way to a 10-4 victory.
MAYFIELD EXCELLING EARLY
Junior right-handed pitcher Carson Mayfield was named the Ivy League's Pitcher of the Week on Monday, marking the second time across the first three weeks that he has earned weekly honors from the Ivy League.
Mayfield is the first Cornell pitcher to receive multiple Ivy League Pitcher of the Week honors since Tim Willittes earned at least a share of the weekly award in consecutive weeks during his junior campaign in 2016. He also became the fifth Cornell pitcher to earn multiple Pitcher of the Week awards from the Ivy League, since 2003, joining Connor Kaufmann (four-time honoree) in 2012, Chris ScHutt (two-time winner) in 2003, and Brian McAfee (two-time winner) in 2015.
Coming off an impressive outing against Michigan State last Friday, Mayfield allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits across six innings while striking out three batters and issuing no walks. After allowing a run on two hits in the first inning, Mayfield set down 16 of the last 18 batters he faced, with the only players to reach safely coming on a leadoff inside-the-park home run in the fourth and a one-out single in the fifth.
STAYING STRONG IN THE FIELD
Coming off recording a program-record .975 fielding percentage (35 errors in 1,407 fielding chances) last season, Cornell has carried its fielding success into 2025 as it has only two errors in 178 fielding opportunities across its first two weekends of action.
Since last season, Cornell has posted a cumulative .975 fielding percentage (43 errors in 1,702 fielding chances), ranking as the 59th-best percentage in Division I baseball. Among the eight Ivy League programs, the Big Red has an nine-point lead over Yale, which ranks 209th with a .965 fielding clip.
The 43 errors committed by Cornell across its 46 games played since the beginning of last season ranks as the second-fewest in Division I baseball, only trailing Notre Dame's 38 miscues in 66 games played. Cornell's 43 errors are 23 fewer than the second-place Ivy holder, Yale (66).
The Big Red's .973 fielding percentage this season ranks 91st in Division I baseball after the conclusion of Wednesday's contests, and has the best fielding percentage of the eight Ivy League programs by three points (Yale — .970 — 12 errors in 399 fielding chances).
Cornell's eight errors committed are tied with Bradley, Dartmouth, and Eastern Michigan for the seventh-fewest miscues in Division I baseball this season. Only Central Connecticut State (five in seven games), Arkansas (six errors in 17 games), Texas State (six errors in 16 games), Arizona State (seven errors in 17 games), Charlotte (seven errors in 15 games), and Vanderbilt (seven errors in 17 games) are those ahead of Cornell.
No Cornell team has committed eight errors or fewer over its first eight games since 2013 when it had only six miscues through its first eight games. Dating back to the 1979 season, Cornell had only committed under 10 errors over its first eight games on four previous occasions (nine in 2004, nine in 2012, six in 2013, and nine in 2017).
Cornell did not commit an error in its season-opening series against then-No. 17-ranked Duke, signifying the first time in program history (since 1885) that the Big Red did not have an error across its first three games. There were six previous instances where the Big Red had one error across its first three games, having been accomplished during the 1943, 2004, 2007, 2008, and 2013 campaigns.
Over the previous 139 seasons where data was available, the Big Red had previously only had nine instances where it played errorless baseball in its first two games of a season (1908, 1943, 1985, 1986, 1989, 2007, 2009, and 2013). Cornell also did not commit any errors in two of its first three games to begin a season on 14 occasions, also joining the 1909, 1927, 1963, 2004, and 2008 squads.
SHOWING 'GRITS AND GUTS'
The season-long theme for the Cornell baseball team in 2025 is to show "grit and guts."
Cornell exemplified that in the nightcap of the March 1 twin bill with UMBC in Baltimore, where the Big Red avenged a 7-0 first-inning deficit to defeat the Retrievers, 16-13, in a seven-inning contest. The comeback was the Big Red's second time avenging a seven-run deficit in as many years as it trailed Yale, 8-0, going into the bottom of the eighth of the first game of an April 20 doubleheader and prevailed in 10 innings, 10-9.
Through the completion of Wednesday's games, Cornell is one of 24 Division I programs that has overcome a deficit of at least seven runs this season.
Twelve of the 24 comebacks from seven-plus-run deficits have featured teams trailing by at least seven runs in the second inning or earlier. Cornell is one of three teams in the country that has been successful in avenging a first-inning deficit of at least seven runs, joining Rider (trailed 7-0 to Saint Peter's after first inning of 17-10 win last Sunday) and Texas Southern (trailed 8-1 after 1st inning of 14-13 win this past Tuesday).
IVY LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
The Ivy League preseason poll was announced Feb. 18 with Columbia pitted as the unanimous favorite following a vote of two representatives from each of the eight Ivy League programs (16 total voters).
Penn was picked to finish second, serving as the lone other Ancient Eight program to recveive over 100 points. Cornell was tabbed third while Princeton was selected to finish fourth, rounding out the projected second annual Ivy League Tournament, which will be held at the No. 1 seed.
Rounding out the poll was Yale (69 points), Harvard (59 points), Dartmouth (30 points), and Brown (21 points).
Cornell's third-place projection is the program's highest preseason ranking in the annual Ivy League's preseason poll since its inception in 2018.
QUATRANI HONORED BY D1BASEBALL
Sophomore catcher Mark Quatrani was honored by D1Baseball.com with preseason honors, being selected as one of the top 50 catchers in Division I baseball on Jan. 28.
Quatrani, fresh off being named the Ivy League's Rookie of the Year last year, came in ranked at No. 39 on the list after posting a .362 batting average in his first year with the Big Red. Paired with his batting average, Quatrani registered a 1.206 OPS (.492 on-base percentage and .714 slugging percentage) after blasting 11 home runs and driving in 43 runs, both figures serving as team-highs.
Among the 50 players named to the preseason list, Quatrani was the lone representative from the Ivy League and one of 12 sophomores honored, three of which were redshirt sophomores. Quatrani was one of 18 non-Power Four catchers named to the list
Of the 49 players that played college baseball last season, Quatrani had the highest OPS (1.206) of any player named to the list, with his figure being 31 points higher than Virginia's Jacob Ference (1.175). Quatrani also had the third-highest batting average of those named, trailing Bowling Green sophomore Garrett Wright (.380) and Oklahoma junior Easton Carmichael (.366).
STARTING OFF STRONG
Sophomore catcher Mark Quatrani had one of the highest batting averages by a freshman in Cornell program history last season.
Since freshmen were first eligible to play for the Big Red beginning with the 1976 season, Quatrani's .366 batting average last year ranked as the third-highest by a first-year player in program history, with a minimum of 80 at-bats, only trailing Brian Billigen (.404 in 2009) and Terry Birrer (.379 in 1982).
Quatrani became one of five players to have hit at least .360 in their first collegiate season with the Big Red, joining Billigen, Birrer, former Big Red infielder and head coach Bill Walkenbach (.363 in 1995), and infielder Andrew Luria (.363 in 1999).
ALL-IVY AWARDS
Last season, current seniors Max Jensen and John Quinlan were unanimously voted First Team All-Ivy last season, while current sophomore catcher Mark Quatrani was also voted a first-team selection along with being tabbed the conference's Rookie of the Year.
Quatrani's Rookie of the Year award signified just the third time in program history that a Cornell player was honored with been tabbed the conference's top newcomer. Only infielder Bill Walkenbach (1995) and pitcher Kellon Urbon (2012) were the previous Big Red players to receive the honor.
The trio of First Team All-Ivy selections signified the fifth overall time (1969, 1971, 1977, 1982, 2024) that Cornell has had at least three first-team all-league players since first being instituted in 1960. Mike Branca (first base), Marlin McPhail (second base), John DeMayo (outfield), and Greg Myers (pitcher) all received First Team All-EIBL honors in the last instance Cornell had at least three first-team all-league selections.
DIGGING THE LONG BALL
Cornell hit 52 home runs last season, marking the most by the Big Red in a single season in the program's 153-year history, besting the previous mark of 38 set during the 2009 season.
Freshman catcher Mark Quatrani led the Big Red in home runs last season with 11, tying Eric Kirby (1995) and Erik Rico (2002) for the second-most blasts in a season. The 11 home runs by a freshman broke a 29-year record held by former infielder Bill Walkenbach — who later became the Big Red's head coach from 2009-15 — after he hit six home runs in 1996.
Quatrani enters the 2025 campaign five home runs shy of matching Kirby, Raul Gomez (1998-01), and Andrew Luria (1999-02) for the ninth-most home runs in program history. Chris Cruz assumes the program record for home runs (25 from 2011-14).
Speaking of Quatrani, he registered the team's single-season record for home runs with a leadoff blast in Cornell's 14-11 setback in the opener of a twin bill with Columbia last April 27 at Booth Field in Ithaca.
Of the 52 home runs hit last season by Cornell, eight came on the power of grand slams, the most in a season on record in program history. The grand slam total matched the combined output over the previous nine years combined.
WHEN IT RUNS, IT POURS
Cornell scored 270 runs across its 38 games last season, computing to a 7.11 runs per game average, ranking 117th nationally.
The Big Red's 7.11 runs per game average was its highest clip in a single season since 1901, when Cornell scored 180 runs in 24 games (7.50 runs per game). Last year's average also ranked as the fourth-highest scoring year in Cornell history with at least 20 games played.
Last season's 270 runs scored was the 31st time in Cornell's 153-year history of the baseball program that it scored at least 200 runs in a season. The 270 runs were the third-most by the Big Red in a single season and was its highest run total since scoring a program-record 279 times in 2012, Cornell's last time it appeared in the NCAA Tournament.
Last year, Cornell displayed a knack for scoring runs in bundles, as 225 of its 270 runs came in multi-run innings (83.3 percent of its run production). The Big Red had 66 multi-run innings in 2024 and had registered at least one inning with two-plus runs in 33 of its 38 games played (86.8 percent).
Since the beginning of the 2022 season, Cornell has had at least one multi-run inning in 94 of its 117 games (80.3 percent). The Big Red has had a multi-run inning in 14 of its last 16 contests, dating back to last season, with the lone contests in which it did not register a multi-run inning coming against No. 17-ranked Duke (Feb. 23) and last Friday against Michigan State (March 7).
HOT HITTERS
Cornell's trio of First Team All-Ivy selections last year in senior outfielder John Quinlan (.378), sophomore catcher Mark Quatrani (.362), and senior infielder Max Jensen (.358) made Cornell one of 11 Division I programs last season to have at least three players with .350 batting averages. Players eligible must have had a minimum of three plate appearances per game and played in at least 75 percent of their team's games.
Austin Peay led the nation with five players that had batting averages north of .350 last season. Wofford assumed second place with four representatives, while Cornell was tied with Arizona State, East Tennessee State, Jackson State, Northern Kentucky, Samford, UC Irvine, Virginia, and Western Michigan for the third-most batters with at least .350 averages last season.
The Big Red was only one of two Division I programs (Austin Peay — four) to have at least three batters hit for an average equal or better than Jensen's .358 clip. Austin Peay had four batters meet the criteria, powered by Jon Jon Gazdar (.405), Lyle Miller-Green (.393), Clayton Gray (.380), and John Bay (.365).
QUINLAN'S HOT BAT
Senior outfielder John Quinlan posted 1.70 hits per game last season, which led the Ivy League and ranked as the eight-highest average in Division I baseball last season.
Rutgers' Joshua Kuroda-Grauer paced the nation with his 1.79 hits-per-game average, slightly ahead of Penn State's JT Marr (1.74), Austin Peay's Clayton Gray (1.73) and Jon Jon Gazdar (1.71), Virginia Tech's Ben Watson (1.72), Fairfield's Dean Ferrara (1.71), and Northeastern's Tyler MacGregor (1.71).
Harvard's Ben Rounds ranked second among Ivy League batters with a 1.54 hits-per-game average, which ranked 39th nationally.
Senior infielder Max Jensen averaged 1.43 hits per game last season, ranking fourth in the Ivy League and 108th nationally.
SCOUTING TOWSON
Towson enters the weekend series with a 5-14 overall record after the Tigers split their pair of midweek contests against West Virginia and George Washington. Against West Virginia in Morgantown, W.Va., on Tuesday, the Mountaineers scored the first nine runs on their way to a 16-5 victory. Towson responded with a 16-2 run-rule-shortened victory the following day at home against the Revolutionaries, powered by its eight steals, which tied the program's single-game record.
The Tigers currently have five starting batters hitting over .300 and driving in at least 10 runs, highlighted by Nich Francuzenko's .333 clip. Brian Heckelman (.316/.458/.605) leads Towson in numerous categories, including on-base and slugging percentages, and in OPS (1.063). Max D'Alessandro has a team-high four home runs on the year.
Pitching for Towson has heavily relied on two of their starting pitchers, Max Simpson (1-3, 3.86 ERA) and Dutch DeProspero (1-1, 4.34 ERA). Kyle Emmons (0-1, 3.24 ERA), Matt Leikus (0-0, 3.27 ERA), and Nate Nabholz (1-0, 3.38 ERA) all have ERAs below 3.40 out of the Tigers' bullpen.
LAST SERIES AGAINST TOWSON
Cornell and Towson split a two-game series at John B. Schuerholz Park in Towson, Md., during the 2019 season.
In the opening game against Towson, which was the nightcap of a doubleheader on March 16, 2019, with Fordham, then-freshman Austin Flematti went 2-for-3 with a double and two-run single in the eighth inning that plated the tying and go-ahead runs for the Big Red, who posted a 4-2 victory over Towson after rallying from a 2-0 deficit after six innings.
John Natoli mowed down all 10 batters he saw to earn the victory. Jonathan Zacharias yielded just an unearned run through four innings in his first collegiate start.
Towson prevented a sweep of the two-game series, posting a 3-2 victory over Cornell, despite the Big Red staging a ninth-inning comeback.
Matt Collins — who had a pair of hits on the day — led off the inning getting hit by a pitch, then Alex Carnegie pulled a single into left to put two on with no out. Will Simoneit then delivered a pinch-hit single to center field to cut the deficit to 3-2, but Towson held on, inducing a double play and flyout to leave the game-tying run at third.
Cornell got five innings with just one unearned run scored against Seth Urbon, who departed the game in the middle of the sixth inning.
9 YEARS, 280 MILES, 4 MEETINGS
Cornell and Towson have met four times prior to this weekend's series. The Big Red and Tigers have evenly split the four contests, 2-2.
Towson took the inaugural meeting on April 1, 2015, by an 11-5 score before Cornell posted victories of 24-17 (April 5, 2017) and 4-2 (March 16, 2019) to take the series lead. In the last meeting between the programs, Towson edged out Cornell, 3-2, to tie the series.
All four meetings between Cornell and Towson have come at John B. Schuerholz Park.
