ITHACA, N.Y. — Both Cornell and Harvard each registered victories in Sunday afternoon's doubleheader from Booth Field as the visiting Crimson used a six-run ninth inning to snap the Big Red's five-game win streak in the opener before Cornell posted a come-from-behind victory in the nightcap to claim the series victory.
Cornell has claimed consecutive series victories over Harvard for the first time since sweeping doubleheaders in 1994 (Ithaca) and 1995 (Cambridge).
Following the pair of games, Cornell now owns an 8-11 overall record and a 6-3 mark in Ivy League play, the program's best nine-game start to Ancient Eight play since 2014 (also went 6-3).
After this weekend's series, Harvard has a 5-19 overall record and a 3-6 mark in Ivy League play.
GAME ONE RECAP
Using a six-run ninth inning to break open its 8-6 lead, Harvard snapped the Big Red's five-game win streak with a 14-6 triumph in the opening game of Sunday's doubleheader.
Harvard shortstop Jack Rickheim went 4-for-5 with two doubles and five RBI to pace the Crimson offense to the victory. Sawyer Feller, Harvard's designated hitter, also had a multi-RBI day, going 2-for-5 with a double and three RBI.
Cornell junior left fielder John Quinlan registered a 4-for-5 day for the Big Red in the setback, while freshman catcher Mark Quatrani (2-for-4) and senior second baseman Matt Barnhorst (1-for-3, home run) both drove in two runs apiece.
Sean Matson earned his first victory of the season for Harvard, allowing five runs (four earned) on 10 hits in his six-inning outings. Cole Cleary recorded his first save after pitching the final three innings.
Sophom*ore left-handed pitcher Noah Keller gave up four runs (one earned) on six hits over 3.2 innings of work while ending up as losing pitcher of record. Keller, junior right-handed pitcher Ryan Porter, senior right-handed pitcher Von Baker, and sophom*ore left-handed pitcher John Gerfen registered two strikeouts apiece for the Big Red.
Harvard used a three-run second inning to take the lead over Cornell as an RBI fielder's choice by Messervy and a two-run single by Rickheim put the Crimson ahead.
Cornell countered with three runs of its own over the second and third innings behind Barnhorst's home run and a sacrifice fly by senior catcher Nathan Waugh.
Both teams traded RBI base hits in the fourth as Rickheim doubled home Messervy and junior center fielder Jakobi Davis flared a single to left field that scored Quatrani.
— Cornell Big Red (@CornellSports) April 7, 2024ALL TIED UP❗️@CornellBaseball's Jakobi Davis flares an RBI single to left field to tie the game at 4-4 in the fourth inning.
📺: https://t.co/tr2EUOxMVe#YellCornell pic.twitter.com/7qFlC5rs7S
A sacrifice fly by Chris Snopek and an RBI single by William Lybrook in the fifth put the Crimson ahead for good as an RBI single by Quinlan trimmed the Big Red deficit to as little as one in the sixth inning.
— Cornell Big Red (@CornellSports) April 7, 2024John Quinlan records @CornellBaseball's third consecutive two-out hit while trimming Harvard's lead to 6-5 in the sixth inning.
📺: https://t.co/tr2EUOxMVe#YellCornell pic.twitter.com/FwNj13Nq5L
The Crimson's lead was increased to 8-5 in the seventh after a bases-loaded wild pitch by Baker plated one run before a sacrifice fly by Jake Berger gave Harvard a three-run lead.
Quatrani attempted to spark a Big Red comeback in the seventh with a two-out RBI double, but Cleary slammed the door and got an inning-ending strikeout.
— Cornell Big Red (@CornellSports) April 7, 2024STAYING HOT 🔥
Freshman Mark Quatrani hits an RBI double to the right-center field gap, cutting Harvard's lead to 8-6 in the seventh inning.
📺: https://t.co/tr2EUOxMVe#YellCornell pic.twitter.com/IkOr5HblDf
Feller cleared the bases with a three-run double down the left-field line in the ninth to give Harvard an 11-6 lead. Rickheim doubled home two more runs before another Crimson player crossed home plate on a balk by Gerfen.
GAME TWO RECAP
Cornell avoided being swept in the doubleheader and losing the series to Harvard thanks to a three-run eighth inning that avenged a 5-3 deficit to aid the Big Red to its 6-5 victory over the Crimson to claim the series victory.
Sophom*ore right fielder Caden Wildman went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI, while Waugh (2-for-3) and Quatrani (2-for-3) had multi-hit days for the Big Red. Wildman and Quatrani also drove in two runs apiece in the win.
George Cooper had the lone multi-hit game for Harvard, going 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI.
Junior right-handed pitcher Chris Ellison held Harvard in check, allowing one hit in two shutout innings of relief to earn his first career victory. Sophom*ore right-handed pitcher Ethan Hamill started for the Big Red, allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits in his six-inning outing.
Uday Narottam fell to 0-3 on the year as he allowed three runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning in relief of Callan Fang, who struck out 12 batters for a second consecutive game. Fang allowed three runs and scattered four hits in 6.1 innings.
For the second consecutive game, Harvard plated the game's first runs behind an RBI bunt single by Matt Giberti and an RBI double by Cooper to center field in the third inning.
Quatrani, in the fifth inning, cut the Crimson's lead in half with his team-leading sixth home run of the season. Five of Quatrani's six home runs this season have been hit to opposite field.
— Cornell Big Red (@CornellSports) April 7, 2024Another day, another Mark Quatrani oppo 🌮 ❗️
Quatrani registers his sixth home run of the season and his fifth to opposite field, cutting Harvard's lead over @CornellBaseball in half in the fifth.
📺: https://t.co/NUECcu1reM#YellCornell pic.twitter.com/ym84kMjCjW
Harvard retook its two-run lead with an RBI single down the first-base line by Berger, only to be countered by Wildman with a two-run home run to left-center field that pierced the northwesterly wind.
— Cornell Big Red (@CornellSports) April 7, 2024ALL SQUARE❗️@CornellBaseball's Caden Wildman musters a game-tying two-run home run through the northwesterly wind at Booth Field to tie the game at 3-3 in the sixth.
📺: https://t.co/NUECcu1reM#YellCornell pic.twitter.com/hzfLnjxxcG
For the third time on the day, the Crimson retook a two-run lead with an RBI single by Cooper in the seventh inning and an eighth-inning sacrifice fly off the bat of William Lybrook.
Cornell posted its first lead of the day after the Big Red opened the frame with four consecutive base hits. The latter pair of base knocks came on RBI singles by senior first baseman Braden Mack and Quatrani. Barnhorst then gave Cornell the lead with an RBI groundout that plated Mack.
— Cornell Big Red (@CornellSports) April 7, 2024QUATRANI = CLUTCH.
Mark Quatrani rips an RBI single through the right side of the infield to bring @CornellBaseball even with Harvard, 4-4, in the eighth inning.
📺: https://t.co/NUECcu1reM#YellCornell pic.twitter.com/A834r0N5wK
GAME NOTES
• Cornell and Harvard met for the 172nd and 173rd times on Sunday. The Big Red's record against the Crimson now stands at 60-113, as Cornell has won four of its last five against its Ancient Eight rival.
• The Big Red's 6-3 record in Ivy League play is the third time in the post-EIBL Era (since 1993) that Cornell has won at least six games in its first nine conference contests. Since being affiliated with a conference in the EIBL in 1930, it is the 19th time Cornell has registered at least six triumphs within its first nine conference games (1934, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1950, 1952, 1959, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, 2012, 2014, 2024).
• Waugh extended his on-base streak to 23 games, while Jensen snapped his 15-game on-base streak after failing to reach base in all four plate appearances in the nightcap.
• The Big Red registered home runs in both games of Sunday's twin bill, extending its streak of games with a home run to 12. Cornell's 27 home runs hit this season are already tied for the 10th-most in a single season, matching the output from the 2002 squad.
MOST HOME RUNS IN A SINGLE SEASON
Cornell Program History (Since 1947)
1. 38 — 2009
2. 35 — 1999
3. 34 — 2001
4. 33 — 2022
T5. 30 — 1995
T5. 30 — 2010
T5. 30 — 2023
T8. 29 — 1997
T8. 29 — 2012
T10. 27 — 2002
T10. 27 — 2024
• Cornell's pitching has not allowed a home run in its last six games and previous 58 innings pitched, dating back to Kyle Vinci's sixth-inning home run against Princeton on March 24. It is the first time the Big Red has not given up a home run in six consecutive games since holding opponents without a home run in 10 straight games during the 2019 season (March 1 - March 23).
UP NEXT
Cornell will return to action next weekend when it travels to Philadelphia to face the preseason Ivy League favorites Penn (13-14, 5-4 Ivy League). The series is scheduled to begin on Saturday with an 11:30 a.m. doubleheader before the series concludes on Sunday at noon. All games from Tommy Lasorda Field at Meikeljohn Stadium will air live on ESPN+.
Penn is coming off a 2-1 weekend against Yale at George H.W. Bush '48 Field in West Haven, Conn. The Quakers swept Saturday's doubleheader with 7-4 and 9-6 victories before having its hopes of a series sweep thwarted when the Bulldogs posted a 12-3 triumph on Sunday.
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