ITHACA, N.Y. — Though it wasn't the most picturesque doubleheader sweep the Cornell baseball team (9-8, 4-2 Ivy League) envisioned, the Big Red is more than happy to claim two victories, securing its second consecutive Ivy League series with wins of 9-6 and 13-10 against Brown (4-16, 1-5 Ivy League) at chilly Booth Field on Saturday afternoon.

Jumping out to a five-run lead in the second (5-0) and fourth (7-2) innings, the Big Red held off Brown, who scored four unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings, to secure a 9-6 victory in the opening game.

The nightcap featured Cornell jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning before Brown took charge, 9-8, by the top of the fifth. The Big Red regained the lead in the bottom half of the fifth, 10-9, but the Bears tied the game, 10-10, in the subsequent half-inning. Cornell scored three runs in the sixth and seventh innings, but Brown had amassed 10 runs in the top of the eighth and was still batting when dense fog and darkness prompted the three-man umpiring crew to declare the conditions unplayable. Since the top of the eighth was not complete, per NCAA rules, the score reverted to what it was at the end of the last completed inning, granting Cornell the 13-10 victory, much to the dismay of the Brown coaching staff and players.

GAME ONE RECAP
Cornell began the day with a 9-6 win, achieving a wire-to-wire victory and avenging Friday's loss to Brown.

Sophomore catcher Mark Quatrani was the only Big Red player to record a multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, and five RBI. Senior left fielder John Quinlan earned three walks, scored three runs, and recorded two stolen bases in the victory. Senior center fielder Jakobi Davis also recorded two stolen bases.

Fellow sophomore left-handed pitcher Huxley Holcombe secured his second consecutive victory after pitching into the sixth inning. Holcombe allowed six runs (five earned) on five hits, with three walks and four strikeouts. Senior right-handed pitcher Chris Ellison earned the save after pitching the final 1.1 innings.

Luke Trout was the losing pitcher for Brown, allowing five runs on only two hits while walking four batters and striking out three.

Cornell took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning as Quatrani capitalized on walks drawn by the Big Red's first two batters, Quinlan and senior third baseman Max Jensen. In the following inning, the Big Red extended its lead to 5-0 as Jensen was hit by a pitch while the bases were loaded, and Quatrani drove in sophomore second baseman Owen Carlson on a sacrifice fly to right field.

Brown cut Cornell's lead to 5-2 in the third inning with a two-run double by Mika Petersen, which was only countered by runs scored on a wild pitch in the third inning and an RBI single by sophomore shortstop Kevin Hager in the fourth.

The Bears plated four unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings to narrow the Big Red's advantage to 7-6. Nathan Brasher doubled home Gunner Boree in the fifth before scoring on a passed ball by Quatrani. A sacrifice bunt by Andrew Hanlon and an RBI single by Boree in the top of the sixth made it a one-score game. In the home half of the sixth, Quatrani doubled home Quinlan, and Hager hit a sacrifice fly to extend the Big Red's lead back to three.

Senior two-way player Ryan Porter and Ellison each held Brown's hitters scoreless, combining to yield just one hit over the final three innings to secure the Big Red's first victory of the day.

GAME TWO RECAP
In what might be one of the most unconventional victories in Cornell baseball history, the Big Red credited darkness and dense fog for securing a 13-10 win in seven innings.

Cornell had surrendered 10 runs in the top of the eighth inning, falling behind 20-13. However, dense fog continued to roll in from the outfield, creating unplayable field conditions and prompting the umpiring crew to revert the score to what it had been after seven innings, thus securing the win for the Big Red.

The Big Red recorded 12 hits in the nightcap, featuring doubles from Quinlan and junior right fielder Caden Wildman, a triple by Carlson, and a home run by Jensen. Quinlan (2-for-3, three RBI), Jensen (1-for-3, home run, three RBI), and Wildman (2-for-4, double, three RBI) led the Big Red offense in the victory. Quatrani (2-for-4) and senior center fielder Jakobi Davis (2-for-2, two runs, two RBI, two walks) also contributed with multi-hit games for the Big Red.

Freshman left-handed pitcher Sam Keene made his first collegiate start for the Big Red, yielding four runs on six hits over his four-inning outing. He walked three Bears hitters and struck out one.

Junior right-handed pitcher Josh Shea earned his first collegiate victory by pitching two innings of relief, allowing one run on two hits, walking two batters, and striking out one. Senior two-way player William Jaun secured his second save of the season after delivering a scoreless seventh inning.

Brenden Kline was the losing pitcher for Brown after allowing two runs in 1.2 innings from the Bears' bullpen. He issued three walks and struck out one. Christian Keel gave up eight runs on seven hits over 3.1 innings of work while walking two and striking out two.

Cornell surged to a 5-0 lead in the first inning as Jaun opened the scoring by drawing a bases-loaded walk, followed by Wildman who doubled home two more Big Red runs. A sacrifice fly by Carlson allowed Davis to hit an RBI single before he was thrown out at second base while attempting to stretch his hit into a double.

Brown narrowed its deficit to 5-4 in the fourth inning after the Bears scored three runs in the second inning, driven by an RBI single from Mark Henshon. A wild pitch by Keene allowed another run to score, and a sacrifice bunt by Gunner Boree capped the Bears' scoring in the inning.

Miles Newsome hit a solo home run in the fourth inning to narrow the score, but Jensen responded with a three-run blast in the bottom of the fourth, extending Cornell's lead to 8-4.

Brown took its first lead of the day in the fifth inning, thanks to a five-run frame. A home run from DJ Dillehay drove in the Bears' first three runs, while bases-loaded walks drawn by Alex Benevento and Nathan Brasher pushed the Bears ahead.

Quinlan singled home two runs with a sharply hit ball to Dillehay at third base, allowing two Big Red runs to score and putting the hosts ahead, 10-9, only for an RBI double by Henshon to level the contest at 10-all.

Bases-loaded walks by Davis and Quinlan in the sixth inning put Cornell ahead by two runs, and a sacrifice fly by Wildman in the seventh increased the Big Red's advantage to three, 13-10.

In the top of the eighth, Brown had scored 10 runs to take a commanding 20-13 lead over Cornell. However, while the Bears were still batting and had two outs remaining, the umpiring crew and head coaches met on the field as a thick fog began to envelop the outfield, creating unplayable field conditions. According to NCAA rules, the umpiring crew determined that the eighth inning did not count, and the score would revert to the end of the seventh inning, leading to Cornell's victory, which allowed them to sweep the doubleheader and win the three-game series.

GAME NOTES
• Brown and Cornell met for the 140th and 141st times on Saturday, as the Big Red narrowed the Bears' lead in the series to 74-65-2.

• Cornell secured its first series win over Brown since taking two out of three games in Providence at Attanasio Family Field at Murray Stadium in 2018. The last time Cornell won a season series against the Bears on its home field was during a doubleheader sweep on March 30, 2013. At that time, Cornell and Brown faced each other only twice during the regular season, as the Ivy League was divided into two divisions.

• The Big Red has kicked off its first two Ivy League series with victories, marking the program's first time winning both initial conference series since 1994, when it swept doubleheaders against Dartmouth (April 1, 1994) and Harvard (April 2, 1994).

• Quinlan and Davis extended their season-opening on-base streaks to 17 games by reaching base safely in both contests.

• Freshman catcher Ryan Dillon made his first collegiate start in the nightcap and freshman infielder Jayden Shin made his collegiate debut, appearing as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning.

UP NEXT
Cornell will return to action next Saturday, April 5, when it travels to New York City for a three-game series against Columbia (9-12, 4-1 Ivy League) to begin a four-game road trip.

Columbia is completing its three-game series at Princeton on Sunday, with the rubber match of the series between the Lions and Tigers scheduled for noon.

The Big Red will aim to secure its first season series win against the Lions since finishing 3-1 in the 2017 season, the last year of the Ivy League's two-division format. Cornell has managed to win just three of the last 15 games against Columbia dating back to 2018.