PHILADELPHIA – Wednesday's midweek affair was a classic game of "anything you can do, I can do better," as the University of Pennsylvania baseball team bested Lehigh, 12-11, in a wild back-and-forth contest at Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium.
 
The lead changed six times throughout, as Davis Baker got the last laugh by sending his first home run of the season over the right-field fence to give the Quakers (8-9) the victory. The Mountain Hawks fell to 12-6-1 after taking three of four games against Saint Peter's last weekend.

Quaker Notemeal
*The win marked Penn's seventh straight in the series over Lehigh dating back to 2013. The Quakers hold an 86-32-4 advantage against the Mountain Hawks all-time.

*Penn is now 4-1 at home to begin the season, the team's best start to a year in its home ballpark since going 5-0 in 2022.

*Every member of the starting lineup tallied at least one hit. Nick Spaventa (3-for-5) and Jarrett Pokrovsky (3-for-5) each finished with three knocks with two each for Davis Baker, Wyatt Henseler, and Carson Ozmer.

*Quaker hitting registered a total of eight doubles as a team with three for Pokrovsky. It's the team's most doubles in a game since April 6, 2019 at Dartmouth (8).

*Spaventa, Pokrovsky, and Gavin Collins each had a pair of RBIs.

*John Cerwinski (1-1) pitched the final 1.1 innings of the contest, picking up the win while striking out one batter, and surrendering one run on one hit. Marty Coyne made the start, striking out four batters in three innings of work.

How It Happened
After a scoreless first frame for both starting pitchers, Penn scored the first two runs of the game in the bottom of the second inning, as Ryan Taylor scored on a balk and Gavin Collins brought home Jarrett Pokrovsky on a sacrifice fly to go up, 2-0.
 
Lehigh took its first lead of the game in the third inning after Andrew Kohl homered to left field, scoring three runs to take a 3-2 edge.
 
The Quakers quickly answered back in their half of the third inning after Nick Spaventa singled to right field, scoring Baker to tie the game at 3-3.
 
Jake Whitlinger's RBI double to right center in the fourth inning gave the Mountain Hawks the momentum and the lead back, up 4-3, but Penn tied the game back up, 4-4, on Asa Wilson's single to center field. The Quakers found themselves back in front in the fifth inning after Taylor grounded out, bringing across Henseler to take a 5-4 lead.
 
It was quite the swing for Lehigh in the sixth and seventh innings, pushing three runs across on Owen Walewander's RBI double down the right-field line in the sixth and Justin Butler's two-run home run in the seventh to surge out in front, 7-5.
 
Enter Penn's second straight big seventh inning, as Connor Chavez scored on a balk and Pokrovsky laced a two RBI double to left center to push the Quakers back in the lead, 8-7. Penn notched two more doubles in a row, off the bats of Carson Ozmer and Collins to extend the lead to 10-7.
 
Lehigh tied the game up once more in the eighth inning on Walewander's three-run shot to left field, but almost instantly, it was Baker who swung for the fences, clearing the right-field wall for his first homer of the season. That proved to be the game-winner, giving Penn an 11-10 lead. Spaventa added some insurance in the eighth with his RBI single to center field, extending the cushion to 12-10.
 
John Cerwinski pitched out of trouble in the ninth inning, allowing one run to come across to score on a wild pitch, but retiring Whitlinger on a ground out to end the threat and the afternoon.

Up Next
Penn opens a three-game series with Brown on Friday morning to begin Ivy play for the 2024 season. First pitch is set for 11:30 a.m. at Tommy Lasorda Field.
 
For the latest on Penn baseball, follow @PennBaseball on X (formerly Twitter), @Penn_Baseball on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.