LITTLE FALLS, N.J. – On the final day of the 2024 Ivy League Baseball Tournament Penn needed two wins, which the Quakers did by taking game one 11-9 and winning game two 12-6 to earn the Automatic Qualifier to the NCAA Regionals. The Quakers won the Ivy League tournament for the second consecutive season.
Penn improved to 24-23 while the Big Red finished the season at 17-21.
Penn will find out what Regional it will be sent to on May 27 during the NCAA Baseball Selection Show.
Game 1: Penn 11, Cornell 9
Heading into the top of the third with Penn up 6-0, Cornell got itself back into the game when it posted five runs on six hits. It all started when Nathan Waugh doubled to left while teammates Max Jensen and Mark Quatrani each singled to load the bases for the Big Red. Braden Mack’s two-run single up the middle scored Waugh and Jensen to make it a 6-2 contest. Quatrani moved to second on the play.
Kevin Hager kept the inning going with a single down the left-field line to load the bases for the second time in the inning. Quatrani scored to make it 6-3 off of Matt Barnhorst's RBI groundout to second. Hager and Mack later scored off Caden Wildman’s single down the left-field line to make it 6-5 before the inning ended.
The Big Red in the fourth off a sacrifice fly to left that allowed Jensen to score to tie the game at six. In Penn’s half of the fourth, they were able to reclaim the lead and go up 7-6 when Wyatt Henseler scored from third off a double play ball.
Cornell got back in front off a two-run home run to left center by Hager to go up 8-7 in the top of the sixth.
The Quakers were able to tie things up in their half of the sixth on a pair of hits and a fielder’s choice while taking advantage of a fielding error.
Penn broke the tie in the bottom of the seventh when Connor Chavez parked a three-run shot over the right field wall to make it, 11-8.
Cornell was able to inch closer when Caden Wildman hit a solo home run in the ninth to cut the lead to two but that is all the Big Red would get as Penn forced a winner-take-all game later today.
Penn reliever Cole Zaffiro picked up the win to improve to 5-4 on the season. He allowed one run (earned) on two hits while fanning six.
Noah Keller took the loss for the Big Red to drop to 1-6 on the year. He allowed four hits and four runs (all earned) in an inning and third.
Hager and Wildman combined going 4-for-6 with six RBIs, three runs scored, two home runs, and a pair of stolen bases for Cornell.
Penn’s Chavez finished the game going 3-for-4 with four runs scored, four RBIs, and a home run. Teammate Ryan Taylor tallied four RBIs while going 1-for-3 with a double.
Game 2: Penn 12, Cornell 6
Penn wasted no time getting on the board when it posted three runs on four hits to take a 3-0 lead in the top of the first.
Cornell got one of the runs back in the bottom of the third when Waugh scored off a wild pitch to make it, 3-1.
The Quakers opened fourth with Gavin Collins, Asa Wilson, and Calvin Brown who walked to load the bases to start the inning. Cornell was able to get a fly out to third for out number one, but then a wild pitch allowed Collins to score and make it 4-1 while sending the other two runners up a base. An RBI single to left-center by Henseler permitted Wilson to score and send Brown to third. Following a Big Red pitching change, Baker took first after being plunked to load the bases again. Ryan Taylor’s RBI walk pushed the lead to 6-1 before back-to-back outs ended the frame.
Cornell’s John Quinlan’s RBI double scored Davis to cut the Penn lead to four to make it 6-2 in the bottom half of the fourth.
Penn got the run back in the fifth when Chavez doubled to left to score Wilson to make it a 7-2 contest.
The Big Red trailed by five going into the bottom of the sixth but were able to post four runs on five hits. It all got underway when Johson singled to left-center and later advanced to third when Davis doubled down the right-field line. Both runners later scored when Waugh doubled down the left-field line to make it, 7-4. With one out, Jensen parked a two-run home run to right-center to make it a one-run ball game before the inning ended on a double play ball.
After both teams went scoreless in the seventh, the Quakers broke the game open in the eighth when they plated five runs on three hits to go up, 12-6.
Penn’s last three relievers allowed only three base runs over three and two-thirds innings.
Marty Coyne picked up his first win (1-0) of the season for Penn. He allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits in three and two-thirds. He struck out three in the process.
Cornell’s Ryan Porter took the loss (0-2) after only going two innings and giving up three runs (all earned) on four hits.
Chavez tallied a game-high four hits going 4-for-6 with two runs scored, an RBI, and two doubles for the Quakers. Teammates Henseler and Wilson combined going 4-for-9 with three runs scored, six RBIs, and a home run.
Cornell’s Waugh finished the day going 2-for-5 with two RBIs, a double, and two runs scored while Quatrani finished with a team-high three hits on the day.
Jensen finished the game going 1-for-5 with a run scored, two RBIs, and a home run for the Big Red.
All-Tournament Team
Wyatt Henseler, Penn (Most Outstanding Player)
Connor Chavez, Penn
Ryan Taylor, Penn
Cole Zaffiro, Penn
Mark Quatrani, Cornell
Kevin Hager, Cornell
Max Jensen, Cornell
Matt Scannell, Princeton
Jacob Faulkner, Princeton
Cole Fellows, Columbia
James Vaughn, Columbia