PHILADELPHIA— The University of Pennsylvania softball team split their doubleheader at Cornell earlier this afternoon, dropping game one and then winning game two, 5-2.
With the results, Penn now sits 3-32-1 on the year and 1-17 in Ivy League play.
Final: Cornell 13, Penn 5 (after 5 innings)
The Quakers got their bats going early in the game, scoring their first run of the game in the first inning with a triple from Megan Huang to bring Madison Bauerle home. In the bottom of the first, the Big Red struck back with a single from Emma Harshberger that scored Ella Harrod. Cornell built momentum in the second inning, Sydney Stapf singling down the left field line to score both Emma Antich and Maddie Ullensvang to take the lead. Harrod later singled to third base, allowing Stapf to cross the plate. Charlize Cai brought in two more runs with a single to shortstop, bringing home Harshberger with Harrod crossing the plate as Penn caught Lauren Holt in a rundown between second and third. At the end of the inning, Cornell led, 6-1.
The Big Red continued their offensive crusade in the third, Addison Pressley sending the ball through the left-side gap to score Hailey Pirkey for Cornell's seventh run. Harrod later doubled to left center field to bring in runs eight and nine, represented by Pressley and Samantha Albert. Going into the fourth inning, the Red and Blue trailed, 9-1.
In the fourth inning, Penn began to fight back starting with Dani Freer. With the bases loaded, Freer sent the ball to left field, deep enough to score Jade Montgomery with ease and advance the runners. Abbie Stellrecht then put the ball into play, running it out and reaching first safely after an error by the second baseman. With the Quakers running on contact, Rachel Riley crossed the plate to tack on another run with the error, cutting the deficit to 9-3.
In their half of the fourth, Cornell tallied a tenth run with a single from Pirkey to score Cai. Antich later smacked a three-run home run over the left-field fence to bring the score to 13-3 at the end of the inning. Penn showed no quit in the top of the fifth, continuing to put runners on base with two outs on the board. Ella Utschig did her part, singling into left field to bring in Maia Hartley and Gigi Ganje, cutting the deficit again by two runs. The Big Red ultimately held on, recording out number three to win the game in five innings.
Final: Penn 5, Cornell 2
Penn struck first again in game two, starting with a triple from Jade Montgomery in the first inning to score Megan Huang. Gigi Ganje followed with a ground ball to first, allowing Montgomery to score the second run for the Quakers. In the third inning, Dani Freer singled to center field, allowing Montgomery to cross the plate for the third run for the Red and Blue. In the next at-bat, Blake Landow bunted to the pitcher, reaching first on the play and scoring Ganje from third. Halfway through the third inning, Penn led, 4-0.
In Cornell's half of the inning, Addison Pressley singled up the middle to score Sydney Stapf to open the scoring for the Big Red. The Quakers increased their lead again in the fourth inning, Madison Bauerle taking advantage of a passed ball to record run number five for the Red and Blue. Cornell scored their second run in the fifth inning off another single by Pressley, but that was all pitcher Kelly Zybura would allow through the remainder of the inning. Zybura worked two outs to end the fifth, holding the 5-2 lead for Penn. Freshman Ainsley Pemberton took over in the circle to start the sixth inning, throwing two scoreless innings to secure the third win of the season for the Quakers.
Up Next
Penn will close out their season at Penn Park next weekend in a three-game series against Princeton starting with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 26 at 12:30 p.m.
Penn vs. Princeton
Saturday, April 26, 2025 | 12:30 & 3 p.m.
Penn Park | Philadelphia, Pa.
Watch (Game 1) | Live Stats (Game 1)
Watch (Game 2) | Live Stats (Game 2)
For the latest on Penn Softball, follow @Penn_Softball on X and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.
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