In the 2024 Ivy League Baseball Tournament, Cornell took on the University of Pennsylvania for the championship title. The series started with Cornell beating Penn by just one point.
However, it would be the Quakers that would win the series and ultimately the title as it went on to take back-to-back victories against Cornell.
Last weekend, the Red took on Penn in a three-game rematch series. Unfortunately, it was unable to recreate its singular win from 2024 and fell in three straight games to the Quakers.
In the opening game, the first four innings were a scoreless affair between the two teams. Finally, at the bottom of the fifth inning, sophomore infielder Kevin Hager hit a double, allowing senior outfielder John Quinlan to find home plate.
Hager would run home thanks to junior outfielder Caden Wildman, who singled up the middle.
The Quakers had an answer at the top of the sixth inning however, as Gavin Collins hit a home run and earned three runs batted in. At the bottom of the sixth inning, the Red scored the equalizer when senior outfielder Ryan Porter homered.
With the game tied in its final stages, one point would make all the difference.Unfortunately for the Red, it would be Penn that would score the difference-maker. At the top of the eighth inning, Nick Spaventa hit a ground ball that the Cornell defense turned into a double play. The outs weren’t enough to end the inning, and Davis Baker got to home plate, winning the first game of the series for Penn 4-3.
In the next game, the Quakers were ready to showcase its offensive prowess as it took a 2-0 lead to start the first inning. Cornell had a quick response, as Wildman hit a home run and senior outfielder Jakobi Davis hit a ball that sent Porter and senior outfielder Kyle Musser home.
Penn answered in the third inning with two runs, and for the next seven innings the Quakers went on an unanswered five run streak. Sophomore infielder Luke Johnson homered to left field to score the Red’s last point of the game in the eighth inning as Penn took the win, 9-4.
The next day, the Red and the Quakers met one final time for the series and Cornell started off strong. During the bottom of the first inning, Musser hit a home run that allowed the Red to take the lead. The Quakers went on another unanswered streak of points to dominate the Red. Its offense produced 16 runs in eight innings to Cornell’s zero.
In the end, the Red lost three important Ivy Conference games and the Quakers swept the series.
On Tuesday, the Red traveled to Binghamton University for a mid-week matchup. Its initial matchup with the Bearcats, scheduled for March 25, was cancelled due to inclement weather.
The first two innings saw no runs by either side. Binghamton came to life in the third inning as Zach Rogacki hit a home run and earned two runs batted in. Cornell answered at the top of the fourth inning, with junior infielder TJ Swidorski hitting a dinger to bring the score to 1-2.
The issue of unanswered runs continued for Cornell as the Wildcats scored four points in two innings, increasing its lead over the Red to 1-6. At the top of the seventh inning, the Red made an effort to mount a comeback, starting with Musser scoring off Swidorski’s single to left field.
Sophomore infielder Owen Carlson walked, which allowed Swidorski to advance to second, Wildman to find third and sophomore catcher Mark Quatrani to score.
When Davis went up to bat next, he also walked, allowing Wildman to get home.
With Cornell down by two at the bottom of the seventh inning, the Wildcats added two insurance runs to cement its lead. While the Red still had two innings to score, it would only produce one more run off a home run from Quatrani. The Wildcats would win with a final score of 8-5.
After the week, the Red fell to 10-14, 5-7 Ivy. Cornell will next face Harvard University (6-21, 3-8 Ivy) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This three-game series will start at 11:30 a.m. with junior right-handed pitcher Carson Mayfield slated to start for the Red. He has a 1-1 record and a 3.92 earned run average on the season.
At 2:30 p.m. that same day, sophomore southpaw Huxley Holcombe will pitch. He has a 3-1 record and a 8.34 ERA.
The keys to success to get the Red back on track? Strong pitching and more offensive effort. The team ERA this year is at 8.71 — for the Red to win more games, it will need to improve its pitching.
On the season, Cornell has committed just 20 errors on 880 fielding chances which come out to a .977 fielding average. This is 31st across Division I teams and first in the Ivy League.
Coverage of the series at Harvard will be available on ESPN+.
Zeinab Faraj is the assistant sports editor on the 143rd editorial board and a member of the class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. You can reach her at zfaraj@cornellsun.com.
