ITHACA, N.Y. — The Penn baseball team (15-12, 9-2 Ivy League) extended its win streak to seven games, which includes winning each of its last six Ancient Eight contests, after posting victories of 4-3 and 9-4 to sweep Sunday's doubleheader from the Cornell baseball team (10-12, 5-6 Ivy League) at Booth Field.

GAME ONE RECAP
A double play turned with the bases loaded enabled Penn to break open a 3-3 tie, and sophomore left-handed pitcher Marty Coyne thwarted Cornell's ninth-inning comeback attempt, aiding the visiting Quakers to a 4-3 victory in the opening game of Sunday's doubleheader.

Holding Penn to just four hits, junior right-handed pitcher Carson Mayfield posted his fourth quality start of the season after giving up three runs over his career-high seven innings on the mound. Mayfield struck out eight Quakers hitters, matching his career high that was initially set last year against Princeton (March 22, 2024).

Gavin Collins recorded half of the Quakers' hits for the game, going 2-for-2 with a three-home run that gave Penn a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning. Davis Baker also tallied half of Penn's run production.

Noah Millikan made the start for Penn on the mound, allowing two runs on five hits over five innings of work. He walked four, struck out a pair, hit two Cornell batters, and threw three wild pitches. Coyne pitched the final four innings for the Quakers, yielding one run on five hits and striking out six.

Sophomore catcher Mark Quatrani, sophomore shortstop Kevin Hager, senior designated hitter Ryan Porter, and senior center fielder Jakobi Davis each had two-hit games for the Big Red, combining for eight of Cornell's 10 hits. Both of Hager's hits went for doubles, while Porter had a double and a solo home run.

Cornell jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning on an RBI double down the left-field line by Hager, setting up an RBI single by junior right fielder Caden Wildman.

After allowing one hit over the first five innings, Penn registered three consecutive base hits to open the sixth. Nick O'Brien and Davis Baker each registered infield singles that set up Collins' three-run home run to right field.

Responding to Collins' round-tripper, Porter led off the bottom of the sixth with an opposite-field home run to tie the contest at 3-all.

Freshman right-handed pitcher Gus Magill entered out of the bullpen in relief of Mayfield to begin the eighth but threw 10 consecutive balls to begin his outing before being pulled mid-at-bat. Magill ended as the losing pitcher after being credited with three walks, which included the game-winning run being scored on a double play off the bat of Nick Spaventa.

The Big Red left three runners on base in the bottom of the eighth and ninth innings as Porter hit a one-out double in the eighth before Quatrani (single) and Hager (double) had two-out base hits in the ninth. Coyne slammed the door shut on Cornell's comeback attempt, getting Caden Wildman to strike out looking on a 3-2 pitch.

GAME TWO RECAP
Seven unanswered runs scored by Penn between the third and seventh innings aided the Quakers in registering a 9-4 victory to sweep the doubleheader and clinch the series victory.

Nick Spaventa paced Penn's offense with his 3-for-5 performance which included a double and driving in a pair of runs. Davis Baker (2-for-4, two RBI), Ernie Echevarria (2-for-5, RBI), and Nick O'Brien (2-for-5, triple) also chipped in with multi-hit performances. Joining Spaventa and Baker in driving in multiple Quakers runs was Connor Chavez (1-for-2, two RBI).

Josh Katz notched his fourth win of the season after allowing three runs on eight hits over six innings. He did not issue any free passes and struck out six Cornell batters. Tommy Delany, Jake Moss, and Marshall Mott combined to allow one run on three hits over three innings of relief to aid Katz in earning the victory.

Eight of Cornell's starting nine logged at least one base hit as the Big Red combined for 11 hits. Senior first baseman Kyle Musser led the Big Red with his 3-for-4 effort, while sophomore second baseman Owen Carlson also had multiple hits, going 2-for-4. Junior right fielder Caden Wildman and sophomore third baseman Luke Johnson each hit solo home runs in the second and eighth innings, respectively.

Sophomore left-handed pitcher Huxley Holcombe saw his three-game win streak come to a halt after allowing six runs on eight hits across his 5.1 innings on the mound. He walked two, struck out three, hit one Penn batter, and had three wild pitches. Freshman right-hander John Hegarty, senior two-way player William Jaun, and sophomore right-hander Ethan Van Sice combined to throw 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.

Penn took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning as a wild pitch by Holcombe with the bases loaded enabled Baker to draw first blood before Echevarria drove in a run on a ground out.

A three-run second inning put Cornell ahead briefly as Wildman sparked the first of four Big Red hits with a home run over the newly installed heightened left-field fence. Following a single by Musser and a double down the left-field line by senior designated hitter Ryan Porter, senior center fielder Jakobi Davis hit an infield single that plated two Big Red runs.

The Quakers' string of unanswered runs began in the third inning when Spaventa doubled home two runs with a base hit to the right-center field gap. Following a fourth-inning sacrifice fly by Baker and an RBI single by Chavez in the sixth, Penn plated all three of its runs in the seventh inning off bases-loaded walks.

Johnson trimmed Penn's lead in the eighth with a leadoff home run to left field.

GAME NOTES
• Sunday was the 299th and 300th all-time games played between Cornell and Penn. The Quakers increased their lead in the series to 167-131-2, while upping their win streak over the Big Red to four. Penn has won 10 of the last 14 meetings against Cornell, dating back to 2022.

• After drawing a fifth-inning walk in the opener and roping a single in the fifth of the nightcap, Quinlan increased his on-base streak to 30 games, dating back to last season. Quinlan is the lone Big Red player to have reached in all 22 games this season.

• Johnson and Wildman each hit their first home runs since March 1 against UMBC. It was Wildman's first home run in 60 at-bats while Johnson snapped his 32-at-bat streak without a home run.

• Mayfield and junior left-handed pitcher Noah Keller each surpassed the 100-strikeout threshold on Sunday, becoming the first pair of Big Red teammates to have 100-plus strikeouts since Tim Willittes (130 – 2014-18) and Paul Balestrieri (116 – 2014-17).

• Behind matching his career-high for strikeouts with eight, Mayfield increased his career total to 103, moving into 38th place for the most career strikeouts by a Cornell pitcher in the program's modern era (since 1947). Keller fanned a trio of Quakers hitters, upping his career total to 101 and moving into sole possession of 40th place.

MOST CAREER STRIKEOUTS BY A PITCHER
Cornell Modern Era (Since 1947)
1. 217, Greg Myers (1979-82)
2. 203, Steve Hamrick (1973-74)
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36. 105, Erik Rico (1999-02)
37. 104, Harvey Kaufman (1960-62)
38. 103, Carson Mayfield (2023-Present)
39. 102, Dan Baysinger (2001-04)
40. 101, Noah Keller (2023-Present)
T41. 100, John Giese (1969-71)
T41. 100, Tony Siedl (1975-76)

• All three of Porter's hits on the day went for extra bases (two doubles, one home run), as he led the team with a .429 batting average on the day, going 3-for-7, and extended his hit streak to a career-high five games.

• After having at least one hit in both games, Quatrani increased his team-leading hit streak to nine games. He is one game shy of matching his career-long, which was set last year between April 7-27.

• Despite only scoring seven runs across the two games, Cornell batted .300 (21-for-70) as a team with five doubles and three home runs.

UP NEXT
Cornell will look to avoid being swept for just the second time this season when it returns to Booth Field on Monday afternoon for the series finale against Penn.

First pitch between the Big Red and Quakers is scheduled for noon. Freshman left-handed pitcher Sam Keene (1-0, 9.82 ERA) is slated to take the ball for Cornell and will be countered by Penn southpaw hurler Will Tobin (1-1, 6.15 ERA). Game action will be streamed live on ESPN+.