ITHACA, N.Y. — In a rematch of last year's championship round of the Ivy League Baseball Tournament, the Cornell baseball team (10-10, 5-4 Ivy League) welcomes Penn (13-12, 7-2 Ivy League), who is tied with Columbia for the best mark in Ancient Eight play, to Booth Field for a three-game weekend series.

The series commences on Saturday with an 11:30 a.m. doubleheader before the series concludes on Sunday at noon. All three games on the weekend will be streamed live on ESPN+.

BOOTH FIELD PARKING
Fans attending this weekend's contests, and any future weekend baseball games at Booth Field, will be subject to a $10 parking fee on site at Booth Field, beginning three hours before first pitch. Credit card payments will only be accepted.

Free parking options will also be available in the East Hill Plaza and McGovern Fields parking lots with free shuttle service provided. Additional parking information can be found at bigredgameday.com/parking.

WEEKEND REWIND
Cornell faced Columbia last weekend, where the Lions took the series victory, 13-9, behind a walk-off grand slam hit by Sam Miller in the bottom of the ninth with two outs.

The Big Red and Lions traded wins on Friday with Columbia opening the doubleheader with a 10-1 victory before sophomore left-handed pitcher Huxley Holcombe pitched a career-high 7.2 innings and struck out a single-game high seven batters to split the twin bill.

Sophomore catcher Mark Quatrani led the Big Red's offense last weekend by going 5-for-12 with a double. Junior outfielder Caden Wildman was right behind with a .385 average (5-for-13) and a double and four RBI to his credit. Senior two-way player Ryan Porter batted .333 (4-for-12) with a double, home run, and five RBI. Senior outfielder John Quinlan was tied with Quatrani for the team lead in on-base percentage (.500) and was Cornell's only player to have swiped multiple bases on the weekend, posting stolen bases in the latter two games of the series.

GOOD TO BE BACK HOME ... FOR NOW
This weekend will be the Big Red's fourth, fifth, and sixth games at Booth Field this season. Through the completion of Wednesday's games, Cornell is tied with UAlbany for the third-fewest amount of home games played amongst the 307 Division I baseball programs.

Only North Alabama, who is scheduled to christen its brand-new, on-campus baseball facility on Tuesday afternoon against Samford, and North Dakota State (two games) have played fewer home games this season.

The Big Red will not get too cozy at Booth Field as it will embark on an eight-game road trip which will be bookended by a pair of midweek contests against its Central New York rival Binghamton (April 15 and April 29). Cornell will also make the trips to Cambridge, Mass., for an Easter weekend series against Harvard (April 19-20) before returning to northern New England the following weekend for a three-game series against Dartmouth (April 26-27) in Hanover, N.H.

FEWEST AMOUNT OF HOME GAMES PLAYED
This Season (as of April 10, 2025)
• 0 games, North Alabama (11-20 overall record)
• 2 games, North Dakota State (10-18 overall, 2-0 at home)
• 3 games, Cornell (10-10 overall, 2-1 at home)
• 3 games, UAlbany (10-17 overall, 1-2 at home)
• 4 games, Butler (11-21 overall, 3-1 at home)
• 4 games, Canisius (6-19 overall, 1-3 at home)
• 4 games, Harvard (4-20 overall, 2-2 at home)
• 4 games, Maine (10-20 overall, 2-2 at home)
• 4 games, Milwaukee (9-21 overall, 2-2 at home)
• 4 games, Texas Southern (16-17 overall, 4-0 at home)
• 4 games, UConn (14-17 overall, 3-1 at home)

LOOKING TO KEEP THE STREAK GOING
Sophomore left-handed pitcher Huxley Holcombe has been named the winning pitcher in each of his last three starts, all of which have come in Ivy League play. Holcombe enters the weekend tied with Yale freshman Jack Ohman for the most wins in conference play this season, as both players have identical 3-0 records.

The last time a Cornell pitcher posted three victories in as many appearances was last season when Chris Ellison recorded three straight wins, all of which came in outings out of the Big Red bullpen. Holcombe is the first starting pitcher to have wins in three consecutive starts since Paul Balestrieri and Justin Lewis each had three-game win streaks in 2017.

With a win this weekend, Holcombe would be the fifth Big Red starting pitcher (sixth instance) since 1997 to have wins in four consecutive starts, joining Brendan McQuaid (six in 2000), Brent Jones, Brian McAfee (four in 2012 and 2015), and Nick Busto (four in 2013).

MOST CONSECUTIVE WINS BY ONE PITCHER
Cornell Program History (Since 1997)
• 6 games, Brendan McQuaid — 2000
• 4 games, Brendan McQuaid — 1999
• 4 games, Brent Jones — 2012
• 4 games, Brian McAfee — 2012
• 4 games, Nick Busto — 2013
• 4 games, Brian McAfee — 2015
• 3 games, John Osgood — 1998
• 3 games, Brendan McQuaid — 2001
• 3 games, Jim Hyland — 2007
• 3 games, Matt Hill — 2008
• 3 games, Paul Balestrieri — 2017
• 3 games, Justin Lewis — 2017
• 3 games, Huxley Holcombe — 2025

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 the 2025 campaign, committing just 17 errors in 730 fielding opportunities (.977 fielding percentage).

The Big Red's fielding percentage ranks 37th in Division I baseball after the conclusion of Wednesday's contests, leading all Ivy League programs in fielding percentage by nine points (Penn — .967). Cornell's 17 errors committed are tied with Charlotte, Rutgers, and Vanderbilt for the third-fewest miscues in Division I baseball, and has 10 fewer errors than the second-place holder in the Ancient Eight (Dartmouth — 27 errors).

FEWEST ERRORS COMMITTED
This Season (as of April 10, 2025)
• 15, Ball State (871 putouts, 310 assists, 15 errors, .987 fielding percentage in 34 games)
• 16, UTRGV (825 putouts, 287 assists, 16 errors, .986 fielding percentage in 32 games)
• 17, Charlotte (841 putouts, 250 assists, 17 errors, .985 fielding percentage in 32 games)
• 17, Cornell (512 putouts, 201 assists, 17 errors, .977 fielding percentage in 20 games)
• 17, Rutgers (846 putouts, 287 assists, 17 errors, .985 fielding percentage in 33 games)
• 17, Vanderbilt (849 putouts, 249 assists, 17 errors, .985 fielding percentage in 33 games)
• 18, Arkansas (852 putouts, 271 assists, 18 errors, .984 fielding percentage in 34 games)
• 18, Georgia (897 putouts, 319 assists, 18 errors, .985 fielding percentage in 35 games)

Since last season, Cornell has a cumulative .976 fielding percentage (52 errors in 2,137 fielding chances), which ranks 42nd among Division I programs in the span. The Big Red has an eight-point lead over Penn (.967 — 85 errors in 2,598 fielding chances) for the top fielding percentage in the Ivy League during the span.

Cornell's 52 errors committed since last season is tied with Notre Dame for the fewest miscues in Division I baseball, and is one of five programs to have under 60 errors during the timeframe, also joined by Northwestern (57), Arkansas (57), and Cal Poly (58).

FEWEST ERRORS COMMITTED IN DIVISION I BASEBALL
Since Start of 2024 Season (as of April 10, 2025)
• 52, Notre Dame (2110 putouts, 715 assists, 52 errors, .982 fielding percentage in 82 games)
• 52, Cornell (1505 putouts, 580 assists, 52 errors, .976 fielding percentage in 58 games)
• 57, Arkansas (2423 putouts, 714 assists, 57 errors, .982 fielding percentage in 94 games)
• 58, Cal Poly (2376 putouts, 841 assists, 58 errors, .982 fielding percentage in 88 games)

LOOKING TO REACH THE CENTURY MARK
Junior right-handed pitcher Carson Mayfield and junior left-handed pitcher Noah Keller are both closing in on reaching the century mark for strikeouts during their Cornell careers.

Keller leads all Big Red pitchers with his 98 career punchouts, which ranks 41st all-time in Cornell's modern era, dating back to 1947, and has three more strikeouts than Mayfield, who enters the weekend tied with Brent Jones (2012-14) with 95 strikeouts.

MOST CAREER STRIKEOUTS BY A PITCHER
Cornell Modern Era (Since 1947)
1. 217, Greg Myers (1979-82)
2. 203, Steve Hamrick (1973-74)
36. 105, Erik Rico (1999-02)
37. 104, Harvey Kaufman (1960-62)
38. 102, Dan Baysinger (2001-04)
T39. 100, John Giese (1969-71)
T39. 100, Tony Siedl (1975-76)
41. 98, Noah Keller (2023-Present)
42. 97, Nick Busto (2012-15)
T43. 96, Donald Unbekant (1951-53)
T43. 96, Joel Nies (1991-92)
T45. 95, Brent Jones (2012-14)
T45. 95, Carson Mayfield (2023-Present)

Should both Mayfield and Keller reach the century mark for career strikeouts this weekend, they would become the first set of Big Red teammates to have at least 100 strikeouts since Tim Willittes (130 —
2014-18) and Paul Balestrieri (116 — 2014-17).

Keller's career strikeout-per-9-inning ratio of 8.14 in 108.1 IP currently ranks as the 11th-highest figure in the Big Red's modern era (since 1947). Mayfield owns a strikeout-per-nine-inning ratio of 7.35 across 116.1 IP, which ranks as the 23rd-best clip in Big Red history.

THESE CLEATS WERE MADE FOR WALKING
Through the completion of Wednesday's games, Cornell owns the 45th-highest walks per game average in Division I baseball, drawing 5.55 walks across its 20 games played (111 walks).

In the Big Red's modern era, dating back to the 1947 season, Cornell's 5.55 walks per game average is the highest clip in program history with a minimum of 20 games played. Cornell has averaged at least five walks per game on two occasions, which came during the 1969 (160 walks in 29 games — 5.52) and 1971 (204 walks in 37 games — 5.51) seasons.

HIGHEST WALKS PER GAME AVERAGES
Cornell Modern Era (Min. 20 GP) (Since 1947)
• 5.55, 2025 (111 walks in 20 games)
• 5.52, 1969 (160 walks in 29 games)
• 5.51, 1971 (204 walks in 37 games)
• 4.93, 1991 (197 walks in 40 games)
• 4.71, 1970 (179 walks in 39 games)
• 4.62, 1988 (217 walks in 47 games)
• 4.57, 2018 (169 walks in 39 games)
• 4.49, 1998 (166 walks in 37 games)
• 4.42, 2022 (159 walks in 36 games)

Cornell has registered at least five walks in 12 games this season, which includes a season-high 11 walks issued by UMBC in the nightcap of a March 1 doubleheader.

Since the beginning of Ivy League play, Cornell has drawn five-plus walks in five of its nine Ancient Eight contests, showcased by nine-walk efforts against Yale (second game of March 22 doubleheader) and Brown (first game of March 29 doubleheader).

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.

Sophomore 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.

Senior infielder Max Jensen enters this weekend's series one home run shy of matching Kirby, Raul Gomez (1998-01), and Andrew Luria (1999-02) for the ninth-most home runs in program history. Quatrani is right behind Jensen, two home runs away from officially entering the top 10 in Big Red program history.

Chris Cruz currently assumes the program record for home runs (25 from 2011-14) and is one of five players in Big Red program history that have hit at least 20 career roundtrippers, joined by Gary Kaczor (21 from 1977-80), Walkenbach (21 from 1995-98), Brian Kaufman (20 from 2005-08), and Brian Billigen (20 from 2009-12).

Entering this weekend's series with Penn, Cornell has registered 22 home runs as a team this season, tied with the 2007 squad for the 19th-most home runs in a single season. Cornell is seven blasts shy of officially entering the top 10.

WHEN IT RUNS, IT POURS
Cornell has scored 153 runs across its 20 games so far this season, computing to an 7.65 runs per game average, ranking 79th nationally through the completion of Wednesday's contests.

The Big Red's 7.65 runs per game average is the second-highest clip in a single season, only trailing the 9.28 clip posted back in 1891 (232 runs in 25 games). This year's team is one of six in Big Red program history that has averaged at least seven runs per game, with a minimum of 20 games played. The other instances where Cornell averaged seven-plus runs scored per game came in 1901 (7.50 runs per game in 24 games), 1900 (7.45 runs per game in 33 games), 2024 (7.11 runs per game in 38 games), and 1899 (7.05 runs per game in 22 games).

MOST RUNS PER GAME IN A SEASON
Cornell Program History (Min. 20 GP)
• 1891 — 232 runs in 25 games (9.28 runs per game)
• 2025 — 153 runs in 20 games (7.65 runs per game)
• 1901 — 180 runs in 24 games (7.50 runs per game)
• 1900 — 246 runs in 33 games (7.45 runs per game)
• 2024 — 270 runs in 38 games (7.11 runs per game)
• 1899 — 155 runs in 22 games (7.05 runs per game)
• 1902 — 188 runs in 27 games (6.96 runs per game)

This year, 122 of Cornell's 153 runs have come during multi-run innings, computing to 79.7 percent of its scoring production. Including last year's scoring production, 82.0 percent of Cornell's runs (347 of 423) have come in multi-run frames.

Dating back to the beginning of the 2022 season, Cornell has had at least one multi-run inning in 102 of its 126 games (81.0 percent). The Big Red has had a multi-run inning in 22 of its last 25 contests, dating back to last season, with the lone contests coming this year against Duke (Feb. 23), Michigan State (March 7), and last Friday against Columbia (April 4).

IVY LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
The Ivy League preseason poll was announced Feb. 18 with Columbia pitted as the unanimous favorite following a vote of 16 pollsters, comprised of two representatives from each of the eight Ivy League programs.

Penn finished right behind Columbia in second place, 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 field for the second annual Ivy League Tournament, which will be held at the site of this year's regular-season champion.

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 before the 2018 season.

QUATRANI HONORED BY D1BASEBALL
Sophomore catcher Mark Quatrani was honored by D1Baseball.com with preseason honors on Jan. 28, being selected as one of the nation's top 50 Division I catchers heading into the 2025 season.

Fresh off being named the Ivy League's Rookie of the Year in 2024, Quatrani 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 led the team in numerous batting categories, including home runs (11), RBI (43), slugging percentage (7.14) and OPS (1.206).

Among the 50 players named to the preseason list, Quatrani was the only representative from the Ivy League and was just 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 who have at least one season of college baseball under their belts, Quatrani had the highest OPS (1.206) of any player named on the list. His figure was 31 points higher than Virginia graduate student Jacob Ference (1.175).

Quatrani also had the third-highest batting average of those named to D1Baseball's list (.362), trailing Bowling Green sophomore Garrett Wright (.380) and Oklahoma junior Easton Carmichael (.366).

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)

ONE LAST GO-AROUND
A staple of the Big Red baseball program since 1991, Cornell baseball associate head coach Tom Ford announced Dec. 19 that the 2025 season — his 35th with Cornell baseball — will serve as his final year on the Big Red coaching staff.

"It has been a privilege to work with the Cornell baseball program for as long as I have. The experience has been rewarding for so many reasons. Having said that, I will be retiring after the spring season," Ford said. "For years, my family has been so supportive and have always planned their schedule around mine. It is time for me to plan my schedule around them.

"It has been an honor to coach a group of such outstanding young men. I want to express my sincere appreciation to the players. I can't put into words how much they have meant to me. There are so many great memories and relationships built that I will never forget. I hope they got as much out of this program as I did. I also want to thank the alums and donors who keep this program alive. Your loyalty is remarkable and helps a great deal. Please realize that the program is in great hands with Coach Pepicelli, and only great things are yet to come. I've been very fortunate to work with a group of outstanding coaches whose guidance and friendship are much appreciated. Also, thank you to all the support staff who have assisted with the program.

Across Ford's 34 years on Cornell's coaching staff, he has coached 128 All-Ivy honorees, including 30 first-team and 44 second-team selections. He has also been on staff for all three Ivy League Rookies of the Year, including last year's winner Mark Quatrani.

"Tom has been a tremendous representative of our program," stated Dan Pepicelli, who is entering his 10th season as the Ted Thoren Head Coach of Cornell Baseball. "Nobody has been more committed than Coach Ford to developing our guys into better players and men. He has been an absolute rock of stability and wisdom in our program. I have relied on him for so much guidance and valued our relationship. We will miss him after this season."

SCOUTING PENN
Penn enters this weekend with an overall record of 13-12 and a 7-2 mark in Ivy League play, which is tied with Columbia for the lead in Ancient Eight play. The Quakers have won their last five games, dating back to its March 29 victory over Dartmouth, which prevented Penn from being swept by the Big Green. Since then, Penn defeated Lafayette, 16-11, in the consolation game of the Liberty Bell Classic and swept last weekend's series from Princeton, 2-1, 7-5, and 7-6 in 12 innings.

Offensively, Penn is led by Jarrett Pokrovsky, who owns the team lead in batting average (.364), doubles (14), on-base percentage (.409), slugging percentage (.596), and OPS (1.005). Davis Baker owns the team lead in home runs (6) and RBI (22). Ryan Taylor has been successful on 11 of his 12 stolen-base attempts on the season, five more than the second-place holder, Gavin Degnan (6-for-6).

The Quakers' pitching staff has relied on its ability to strike out their opponents as their 9.80 strikeout per game ratio ranks as the 27th-best figure in Division I baseball, through the completion of Wednesday's contests. Freshman right-handed pitcher Sebastian Haggard and senior right-handed pitcher Noah Millikan are tied for the team lead in punchouts (34). Senior left-handed pitcher Will Tobin is right behind the duo with his 31 strikeouts. 

118 YEARS, 230 MILES, 298 MEETINGS
Cornell and Penn have met 298 times prior to this weekend's three-game series. The Quakers own the series lead, 167-129-2, and have won eight of the last 12 meetings. Cornell won three out of the six meetings last season, which included the final two regular-season meetings and the first of three contests played in last year's Ivy League Baseball Tournament.

The Big Red will be seeking its second consecutive regular-season series victory over Penn for the first time since taking two out of three games from the Quakers in both 2018 and 2019. Cornell has not won at least three regular-season games against Penn since 2013, when it took three out of four games, and has not swept the regular-season series since sweeping a four-game series in 2005.

Penn took two out of three games in the second-ever series played at Booth Field back in 2023. In the Big Red's lone victory of the series, a five-run eighth inning aided Cornell in shifting a 7-6 deficit into an 11-7 lead. Max Jensen and Nathan Waugh '24 had RBI singles before Sam Kaplan '23 hit a three-run home run. Penn tried to stage a ninth-inning comeback behind an RBI single by Jarrett Pokrovsky and a run coming on a bases-loaded fielder's choice, but Ryan Porter slammed the door by getting a fly out and strikeout to conclude the contest.