Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y. - The University of Pennsylvania baseball team secured a two-game lead in the Ivy League Gehrig Division standings heading into the final week of conference play with a doubleheader sweep and series win over Cornell Sunday. Gabe Kleiman fired his first-career complete-game shutout in the game one, 4-0 victory before Sean Phelan delivered a go-ahead, two-out RBI double in the seventh inning of the series finale to lift the Quakers to the seventh win in their last eight Ivy League contests.

GAME 1
Penn 4, Cornell 0
WP: Gabe Kleiman (3-0) LP: Tommy Morris (2-2)

GAME 2
Penn 3, Cornell 2
WP: Mike Reitcheck (4-3) LP: Paul Balestrieri (4-4) SV: Billy Lescher (3)

BY THE NUMBERS

*2 - The Quakers take a two-game lead in the Ivy League Gehrig Division standings heading into the final week of conference play. The last time Penn made it to the Ivy League Championship Series was in 2007, falling to Brown in the best-of-three series.

*4 - The Penn pitching staff allowed just four runs over 31 innings in four games during the Cornell series, culminating in a 1.16 ERA. The Quakers went to their bullpen only once in the series, as Billy Lescher pitched the final three innings in relief in the fourth game Sunday.

*20 - Penn clinched its third 20-win season in four years under Head Coach John Yurkow with the game one, 4-0 win.

*39 - Tim Graul's fourth-inning double in game one was the 39th of his career, moving him into sole possession of fourth on Penn's all-time doubles list.

*277 - Gabe Kleiman's fourth strikeout in the seventh inning of game one was the 277th for the Penn pitching staff this season, setting a new all-time, single-season program record.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Penn 4, Cornell 0

Penn got off to yet another slow start offensively in game three of the series as its scoreless streak extended to 13 innings with three shutout frames to begin the day. In the top of the fourth, Chris Adams drew a leadoff walk and moved up to third after a two-strike double down the left field line from Tim Graul. Sean Phelan followed with a sacrifice fly to left to score Adams and snap the scoreless streak - as well as the scoreless tie - giving the Quakers a 1-0 lead in the middle innings.

Gabe Kleiman was incredibly efficient in his seventh start of the season and picked up where Jake Cousins and Adam Bleday left off just a day ago. The lefty tossed the second complete-game shutout of the series, and the first of his career, while scattering six hits and striking out five. Kleiman continued to get stronger as the game progressed, retiring 13 of the last 15 batters he faced en route to his third win of the year. With his fourth strikeout in the seventh, the team total reached 277 which sets a new all-time, single-season program record.

The Quakers looked poised to add an insurance run in the top of the seventh after Phelan and Matt McGeagh both reached to lead off the frame. Following a Matt O'Neill sacrifice bunt to move both into scoring position for Thomas Pellis as the Big Red went to the bullpen for the first time. Pellis greeted Cornell reliever Jeb Bemiss with a towering two-strike, three-run home run to left-center to all but seal the 4-0 Penn victory.

With the win, the Quakers clinched their third 20-win season in four years under Head Coach John Yurkow. Andrew Murnane picked up two hits in Sunday's game one win as Kleiman improved to 3-0 on the mound this season.

Game 2: Penn 3, Cornell 2

The Big Red jumped out to an early lead in Sunday's series finale behind a solo home run off the bat of Ellis Bitar in the bottom of the first. After a scoreless second inning from both sides, Graul erased the deficit with one swing, driving a two-run homer to left to give Penn a 2-1 lead. Graul's third-inning shot marked his third of the season, while also upping his team-leading RBI total to 33.

Cornell answered right back to draw even at two in the bottom of the third with a two-out, run-scoring single from Bitar, but starting pitcher Mike Mike Reitcheck found his rhythm from then on, tossing three consecutive shutout innings while allowing just one hit. With the score still tied after six, Adams led off the top of the seventh with an infield hit before stealing second and advancing to third on a throwing error. Following the second out of the inning, Phelan delivered a clutch opposite-field double into the left field corner to score Adams as the Quakers regained the lead late in Sunday's game two.

The Big Red (18-15, 7-9 Ivy) threatened to answer right back in the home half of the seventh as the first two batters reached via base hits to set up second and third with no outs. With the tying and go-ahead runs on base, the Quakers went to their bullpen for the first time all weekend, summoning Billy Lescher to protect the one-run lead. Lescher was too much for the Cornell lineup to handle as the righty struck out the first two batters he faced before inducing a fly out to left to strand both inherited runners in scoring position.   

Lescher continued his dominance over the next two innings, allowing just one hit and striking out three between the eighth and ninth innings to lock down his third save of the season and a 3-2 win to take the series from Cornell. Reitcheck picked up his fourth win of the season after going six strong innings, while Graul, Phelan and Murnane recorded two hits apiece.

WHAT'S NEXT

Penn (21-16, 11-5 Ivy) returns to Meiklejohn Stadum for the final week of the regular season slate beginning Wednesday against Villanova (8-22, 2-3 Big East) in non-conference play. The Quakers then travel to Columbia (14-21, 9-7 Ivy) Friday to begin a four-game, home-and-home series with the Ivy League Gehrig Division title on the line. Penn currently holds a two-game lead on Columbia - who took four games from Princeton over the weekend - with just four games remaining on the Ivy schedule.

#FightOnPenn