ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell baseball team (9-8, 4-2 Ivy League) returns to action this weekend when it travels to New York City for a pivotal three-game series against Ivy League-leading Columbia (10-13, 5-1 Ivy League) at Robertson Field at Satow Stadium.

Due to unfavorable weather forecasts, the weekend slate has been moved forward a day as the series will begin with an 11:30 a.m. doubleheader on Friday and the series finale scheduled to take place at noon on Saturday. All three games of the series will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Cornell (9-8, 4-2 Ivy League) at Columbia (10-13, 5-1 Ivy League)
When	April 4-5
Where	New York, N.Y. // Robertson Field at Satow Stadium
Watch	Friday - Game One | Friday - Game Two | Saturday
Radio	None
Live Stats	Friday | Saturday
Game Notes	Cornell | Columbia

   

Probable Starting Pitchers
Day	Cornell		Columbia
Fri. 11:30 a.m. ET	RHP Carson Mayfield (1-0, 3.86 ERA)		RHP Joe Sheets (1-2, 8.75 ERA)
Fri. 2:30 p.m. ET	LHP Huxley Holcombe (1-0, 9.67 ERA)		LHP Jagger Edwards (2-1, 5.86)
Sat. 12 p.m. ET	LHP Sam Keene (1-0, 12.15 ERA)		TBA

WEEKEND REWIND
Cornell is coming off a weekend series victory over Brown where the Big Red dropped the opening game, 5-4, before sweeping a Saturday doubleheader, 9-6 and 13-10, to win its second consecutive conference series.

Sophomore catcher Mark Quatrani led the Big Red offense on the weekend, going 5-for-10 with three runs scored, two doubles, a home run, and driving in a tram-leading six RBI. Senior two-way player William Jaun (4-for-11, three runs, three RBI, two walks) and sophomore infielder Owen Carlson (3-for-10, three runs, triple, RBI, walk, sacrifice fly) also batted at least .300 on the weekend.

Junior right-handed pitcher Carson Mayfield continued his strong start to the season, tossing his third quality start of the campaign after allowing two earned runs and scattered four hits in his six-inning outing. He also struck out six batters to match his season high.

Sophomore left-handed pitcher Huxley Holcombe (5.2 IP, 5 H, 6 R (5 ER), 3 BB, 4 SO) and junior right-handed pitcher Josh Shea (2.0 IP of relief, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO) earned the victories for the Big Red in the doubleheader sweep. Senior right-handed pitcher Chris Ellison and Jaun also picked up saves.

KEEP THE STREAK GOING
Cornell is coming off a pair of 2-1 weekends to open Ivy League play, having defeated Yale in its Ancient Eight-opening weekend series in West Haven, Conn., on March 22-23, before returning to Booth Field and posting another pair of victories over Brown last weekend.

The last time Cornell had won its first two series in conference play was in 1994, when it swept a pair of doubleheaders against Dartmouth (April 1, 1994) and Harvard (April 2, 1994). It is just the third time in program history, since 1982, that Cornell has registered series victories in its first two conference series, also sweeping a two-game road series against Army (April 17, 1982) and a two-game home series against Columbia (April 24, 1982).

With two wins this weekend, Cornell would have at least six wins to begin conference play for the 18th overall time and the second consecutive season. The Big Red has never had six-plus wins in its first nine league games in back-to-back seasons since 1977 (7-2), 1978 (6-3), 1979 (6-2-1), and 1980 (8-1).

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 over into the 2025 campaign, committing just 15 errors in 628 fielding opportunities.

The Big Red's .976 fielding percentage this season ranks 48th in Division I baseball after the conclusion of Wednesday's contests, and has the best fielding percentage in the Ivy League, ahead of Penn by 11 points, who has a .965 fielding percentage that ranks 179th nationally. Cornell's 15 errors committed are tied with Arkansas and Vanderbilt for the fifth-fewest miscues in Division I baseball this season. The Big Red has nine fewer errors than the second-place holder in the Ancient Eight (Dartmouth — 24 errors).

Since last season, Cornell has a cumulative .975 fielding percentage (50 errors in 2,035 fielding chances), ranking as the 45th-best percentage in Division I baseball. Among the eight Ivy League programs, the Big Red has an nine-point lead over Penn, which ranks 195th with its .966 fielding clip (83 errors in 2,473 fielding chances).

The 50 errors committed by Cornell since last season ranks only behind Notre Dame (49) for the fewest miscues in Division I baseball, and is only one of four programs that have committed less than 55 errors during the timeframe, also joined by Northwestern (53) and Arkansas (54).

STYMYING THE OPPOSITION
Junior right-handed pitcher Carson Mayfield enters this weekend ranking within the top 20 nationally in hits per nine innings (4.83 — 7th) and WHIP (0.88 — 17th).

Mayfield is one of nine Division I pitchers to rank within the top 20 nationally in both H/9 and WHIP, joined by North Carolina's Aidan Haugh, Southeastern Louisiana's Brennan Stuprich, Hawai'i's, Isaiah Magdaleno, Yale's Jack Ohman, Northeastern's Jordan Gottesman, Michigan State's Joseph Dzierwa, Georgia Tech's Mason Patel, and Mississippi State's Pico Kohn.

The Ivy League is one of two Division I baseball conferences that have multiple pitchers ranking in the top 20 in both H/9 and WHIP. Mayfield (4.83 / 0.88) and Yale's Jack Ohman (5.04 / 0.89) join Haugh (5.06 / 0.83) and Patel  (4.54 / 0.68) of ACC institutions.

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.

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.

Quatrani is two 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).

Cornell currently ranks 86th nationally in home runs per game (1.24), which ranks second in the Ivy League, trailing Columbia (1.30) by six points. The Big Red is one of three Ancient Eight programs (Penn — 1.14) that is averaging at least one round-tripper per game this season.

WHEN IT RUNS, IT POURS
Cornell has scored 137 runs across its 17 games so far this season, computing to an 8.06 runs per game average, which ranks 69th nationally entering this weekend's slate.

The Big Red's 8.06 runs per game average is currently its highest clip in a single season since 1895, when Cornell scored 140 runs in 17 games (8.24 runs per game). Should Cornell continue its pace of scoring eight runs per game, it would be the fifth time in program history it has averaged than many runs per game, joining the teams from 1886 (13.13 runs per game in 15 games), 1891 (9.28 runs per game in 25 games), 1894 (8.89 runs per game in 19 games), and 1895 (8.24 runs per game in 17 games).

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).

This year, 109 of Cornell's 136 runs have come during multi-run innings, computing to 80.1 percent of its scoring production. Including last year's scoring production, 82.3 percent of its runs (334 of 406) have come in multi-run frames.

Since the beginning of the 2022 season, Cornell has had at least one multi-run inning in 100 of its 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)

SCOUTING COLUMBIA
Columbia enters this weekend with a 10-13 overall record and 5-1 mark in Ivy League play. The Lions fell to Hofstra, 4-3, in a midweek contest on Wednesday in Hempstead, N.Y. Despite the most recent loss, Columbia has won six of its last eight games, which includes sweeping Brown and defeating Manhattan, 19-4, in a midweek contest on March 26.

Last weekend, the Lions posted a road series victory against Princeton, where it split a Saturday doubleheader with a 10-2 win and a 3-2 setback, before prevailing in the rubber match, 9-2.

Sam Miller leads the Lions offense with his .343 average and a .943 OPS (.374 on-base percentage and .569 slugging percentage). Anton Lazits has hit a team-leading eight home runs for the Lions.

Jagger Edwards leads all Columbia pitchers with his 5.86 ERA (18 ER in 27.2 IP) while holding opponents to a .282 batting average. Joe Sheets (1-2, 8.75 ERA) has started all six of his appearances, while Thomas Santana (3-2, 6.56 ERA) has made five starts in his six outings. Santana has held opponents to bat just .241 off him on the season.

LAST SEASON AGAINST COLUMBIA
Columbia swept last year's three-game series from Cornell at Booth Field, where the Lions outscored the Big Red by a 41-13 clip, which included the Lions mashing 12 home runs on the weekend.

The opening game of the series saw Columbia outlast Cornell, 14-11, before cruising in the latter two games by 14-2 and 13-0 scores.

140 YEARS, 229 MILES, 254 MEETINGS
Cornell leads the all-time series against Columbia, 133-121, despite losing nine of the last 10 meeting against the Lions.

Over its last three trips to New York City to play Columbia, the Big Red has won at least one game in each series. Dating back to 1993, the first official year of Ivy League play, Cornell has won at least one game in 14 of the last 15 series held at Robertson Field at Satow Stadium. The last time the Big Red was swept in a regular-season series on the Lions' home turf was in 2015, when Columbia swept the four-game series.

The Big Red is aiming to secure its first season series victory against the Lions since going 3-1 during the 2017 season, the last year of the Ivy League's two-division format.