ITHACA, N.Y. — After opening the season on a 14-game road trip, the Cornell baseball team (7-7) returns to Booth Field this weekend when it welcomes Brown (3-14, 0-3 Ivy League) for a three-game series.
Due to unfavorable weather forecasts on the weekend, the series schedule has been altered. The series will begin with a 2 p.m. first pitch on Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. All three contests will be streamed on ESPN+.
| Probable Starting Pitchers |
| Day |
Cornell |
Brown |
| Fri. 2 p.m. ET |
RHP Carson Mayfield (1-0, 3.86 ERA) |
TBA |
| Sat. 11:30 a.m. ET |
LHP Huxley Holcombe (1-0, 9.67 ERA) |
TBA |
| Sat. 2:30 p.m. ET |
LHP Sam Keene (1-0, 12.15 ERA) |
TBA |
WEEKEND REWIND
Cornell opened Ivy League play last weekend against Yale at George H.W. Bush '48 Field in West Haven, Conn., where the Big Red swept Saturday's doubleheader, 13-12 in 10 innings and 7-4, before suffering a 9-3 setback in the series finale.
Senior outfielder John Quinlan continued to prevail against Ivy League pitching, going 7-for-13 (.538) with two doubles and five RBI. He also scored four runs while logging a 1.280 OPS (.588 on-base percentage, .692 slugging percentage).
Fellow senior two-way players Ryan Porter (5-for-15) and William Jaun (4-for-12) and junior outfielder Caden Wildman (4-for-12) all had batting averages of .333 against Yale. Porter had a double, home run, and two RBI, while Jaun had two doubles and an RBI. Wildman added a double and RBI.
Despite having a 7.33 ERA on the weekend, Cornell pitching held Yale to just a .180 batting average, allowing 16 hits in 89 at-bats. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Huxley Holcombe posted his first career quality start in the nightcap of last Saturday's twin bill, allowing three runs in six innings of work. Freshman left-hander Sam Keene notched his first career save, allowing one run while not allowing a hit over the final three innings of relief of Holcombe.
STAYING STRONG IN THE FIELD
Coming off its program-record .975 fielding percentage (35 errors in 1,407 fielding chances) last season, Cornell has carried its fielding success into 2025, committing just 12 errors in 518 fielding opportunities.
The Big Red's .977 fielding percentage this season ranks 43rd in Division I baseball after the conclusion of Sunday's contests, and has the best fielding percentage in the Ivy League by 10 points (Princeton — .967). Cornell's 12 errors committed are tied with Arizona State and UTRGV for the fourth-fewest miscues in Division I baseball this season.
Since last season, Cornell has a cumulative .976 fielding percentage (47 errors in 1,925 fielding chances), ranking as the 43rd-best percentage in Division I baseball. The 47 errors committed by Cornell since last season ranks only behind Notre Dame (46) for the fewest miscues in Division I baseball.
IVY 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 became one of five players to have at least a .360 batting average in their first year with Cornell, joining Brian Billigen (.404 in 2009), Terry Birrer (.379 in 1982), former Big Red infielder and head coach Bill Walkenbach (.363 in 1995), and infielder Andrew Luria (.363 in 1999).
TOP BATTING AVERAGES BY FRESHMEN (MIN. 80 ABs)
Cornell Program History
• .404, Brian Billigen (2009) — 46-of-114
• .379, Terry Birrer (1982) — 44-of-116
• .366, Mark Quatrani (2024) — 38-of-105
• .3630, Bill Walkenbach (1995) — 53-of-146
• .3628, Andrew Luria (1999) — 41-of-113
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 time (1969, 1971, 1977, 1982, 2024) Cornell has had at least three first-team all-league players since 1960. Mike Branca (first base), Marlin McPhail (second base), John DeMayo (outfield), and Greg Myers (pitcher) all received First Team All-EIBL honors in 1982, the last time Cornell had three first-team selections.
TRIO OF FIRST TEAM ALL-LEAGUE HONOREES
Program History (Since 1960)
• 1969 — Ed Cott (C), Chris Ritter (OF), Pete Watzka (3B), Bob Witkoski (SS)
• 1971 — Tom Boettcher (3B), Pete Watzka (OF), Bob Witkoski (2B)
• 1977 — Gary Gronowski (P), Dave Johnson (OF), Ken Veenema (2B)
• 1982 — Mike Branca (1B), John DeMayo (OF), Marlin McPhail (2B), Greg Myers (P)
• 2024 — Max Jensen (1B), Mark Quatrani (C), John Quinlan (OF)
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 is three 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).
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 100 of its last 123 games (81.3 percent). The Big Red has had a multi-run inning in 20 of its last 22 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).
RAREFIED COMPANY
Senior outfielder John Quinlan and senior infielder Max Jensen were two of Cornell's most reliable hitters in Ivy League play last season.
Quinlan mustered 42 hits in conference games, assuming Cornell's program record for hits in conference play in a single season. He also became just the second player in EIBL / Ivy League history with 40-plus hits in conference games in a single season, joining former Dartmouth shortstop Tyler Cox, who had 45 hits in Ancient Eight play in 2022.
Jensen also excelled against Ivy League opposition last season, amassing 37 base knocks to place him in a five-way tie with Yale's Dan Thompson (1995), Brown's Joe Lomuscio (2019), Columbia's Joe Engel (2019), and Harvard's Jake Suddleson (2019) for the sixth-most hits in conference play in EIBL / Ivy League history.
The Cornell duo became the first pair of teammates in the history of the EIBL and Ivy League to record at least 37 hits within the same season.
Quinlan (54) and Jensen (51) also became the third set of Big Red teammates with 50-plus hits in a season, joining Ken Veenema (56) and Dave Johnson (50) in 1977 and Brian Billigen (57) and Frank Hager (52) in 2012.
MOST HITS IN CONFERENCE PLAY
EIBL / Ivy League History
• 45, Tyler Cox, Dartmouth (2022)
• 42, John Quinlan, Cornell (2024)
• 39, Matt Kutler, Brown (2005)
• 38, Tom Grandieri, Penn (2010)
• 38, Peter Matt, Penn (2019)
• 37, Dan Thompson, Yale (1995)
• 37, Joe Lomuscio, Brown (2019)
• 37, Joe Engel, Columbia (2019)
• 37, Jake Suddleson, Harvard (2019)
• 37, Max Jensen, Cornell (2024)
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 one of two Division I programs (Austin Peay — four) that had at least three batters register a batting 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).
