PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania baseball team officially punched its ticket to the Ivy League Tournament for a third consecutive season with a gritty 9-8 victory in Game 1 but ended up splitting the doubleheader with an 11-3 loss in the nightcap against Columbia Sunday afternoon at Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium.
The Quakers (19-16, 12-6 Ivy) and Lions (21-17, 13-5 Ivy) will both return to the postseason after two strong regular season campaigns with just three Ancient Eight contests remaining next weekend.
Prior to the start of the afternoon, Penn honored nine members of its senior class including Phillies' prospect
Ryan Dromboski with a special pre-game ceremony.
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn earns a spot in the Ivy League Tournament for a third straight season, making a trip to the postseason in all three years since the ILT's inception. The Quakers also appeared in the Ivy League Championship Series against Columbia in 2022.
*The Quakers' win over the Lions in Game 1 snapped a four-game regular-season skid to Columbia dating back to last season.
*Four Penn hitters had multi-hit games including
Jarrett Pokrovsky (2-for-4),
Gavin Collins (2-for-3),
Nick Spaventa (2-for-3) and
Ernie Echevarria (2-for-2).
*The Quakers recorded five doubles in the victory with two for Collins and one each for Baker, Pokrovsky, and Degnan.
*Echevarria hit the second home run of his career in the victory. He also drove in a team-high three runs.
*
Jake Moss (1-0) earned his first win of the season after pitching 2.1 shutout innings of relief, allowing two hits with three strikeouts and two walks.
Thomas Shurtleff picked up his fourth save of the year after striking out four batters while recording the final six outs of the game.
*In Game 2, Degnan went 2-for-4 at the plate, tallying half of the cycle (a triple and homer) in his first two plate appearances.
*Pokrovsky (3-for-4) doubled twice and now has 21 doubles on the year, one shy of tying both the program and Ivy League record of 22 set by Penn's Tom Grandieri in 2010.
*
Will Tobin (2-3) was credited with the loss, his third of the year. He gave up six runs on eight hits over three innings of work.
Marty Coyne recorded his fourth scoreless inning against the Lions this weekend, striking out six batters with just one hit surrendered.
How It Happened (Game 1)
Columbia led off the first with a single and recorded the game's first run with an RBI double to center for Palfrey, building an early 1-0 lead against Penn starter
Josh Katz.
Katz had a clean second inning, while striking out his fourth batter of the game.
Collins began the Quakers' half of the second inning with a double to left center field, scoring on McCabe's single off the pitcher's foot to tie the game up at 1-1. Penn extended its lead to 3-1 on Echevarria's two-run homer down the left-field line, just inside the foul pole.
Katz continued his hot start, bringing his out total to seven consecutive batters after retiring the side in order in the third.
The Lions had two hits in the top of the fourth, bringing home the second run of the afternoon on an RBI groundout, now 3-2.
For the second time in the game, Collins started an inning with a leadoff double, this time in the fourth. McCabe walked to put runners on first and second as Spaventa drove in a run with a single off the left field wall. Another run scored on Echevarria's single to left, pushing the edge to 5-2.
Columbia had its first big inning in the fifth, scoring three runs on three hits--including two RBI doubles--to square the game back up at 5-5 which prompted the Quakers to turn to right-hander
Jake Moss with two outs. He walked Selinsky, but Kail got thrown out at home, 2-1 caught stealing, to retire the side.
Chavez worked a nine-pitch walk to begin the fifth, driven in on Baker's double to left center to give the Quakers a 6-5 lead. A sacrifice fly for Collins brought home Baker to push the lead to two runs at 7-5.
Moss recorded two outs pretty quick in the sixth, but an error put Snyder on base, and a double put two runners in scoring position before the righty struck Palfrey out swinging.
Spaventa singled through the right side to start the Penn sixth, getting over to third base on a wild pitch for Echevarria who was hit by a pitch. Taylor grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to retire the side, the Quakers still clinging to a two-run cushion.
Shurtleff danced around danger in the top of the eighth after allowing three baserunners, but punched out Lazits with the bases loaded to keep the lead intact.
Penn added insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth after Degnan doubled to left center and Echevarria walked to juice the bases. Chavez came through with a two-run single right field, now a 9-5 lead.
But the Lions wouldn't be denied after Cole Fellows began the top of the ninth inning with a solo homer to right field, followed by a walk to Jack Kail and a two-run shot to left for Skye Selinsky that brought Columbia within one run, 9-8, with no one out. Shurtleff struck out back-to-back batters before the tying run (Hunter Snyder) reached on a costly error in left field, advancing all the way to third base. Shurtleff ended up striking out the side when he retired Sam Miller swinging to earn his fourth save of the year and solidify the Quakers' spot in the Ivy League Tournament.
How It Happened (Game 2)
It was a 1-2-3 first inning for Tobin, which brought the Penn bats up for the first time looking to seal the series victory.
A walk to Collins and a single for Pokrovsky put runners on the corner, but Echevarria grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning.
Tobin did his job again in the second while the Quakers scored first on a sacrifice fly that drove in Degnan, who had reached on a leadoff triple to right field.
Snyder launched his second homer of the year, a solo shot to right, tying the game up at one run apiece to start the third. Three more runs scored in the frame to give the Lions a 4-1 lead. Columbia tacked on two more an inning later when Temesvary ripped a two-run shot to left to make it a 6-1 game.
Degnan homered to left field to trim the deficit to 6-2 but not before the Lions added a seventh run in the fifth on an RBI double, now up 7-2.
With two runners on inherited from
Connor Darling,
Aidan von Zuben allowed three runs on two hits, as Columbia extended its lead further to 10-2. The lead became 11-2 in the seventh when an error on Spaventa let in a baserunner.
The Quakers responded in the seventh inning when Pokrovsky doubled to right field, and
Qwynn Ahearn drove him in on a single to center field, making it 11-3.
Marty Coyne pitched a scoreless eighth inning and
Marshall Mott struck out the side in the ninth, but it wasn't enough as the Lions prevailed with an 11-3 victory to seal the series.
Up Next
Penn closes its home and non-conference slate at Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium on Wednesday when it hosts Wagner at 3 p.m. The contest will be streamed live on ESPN+ with live stats provided.
For the latest on Penn baseball, follow @PennBaseball on X (formerly Twitter), @Penn_Baseball on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.
#QuakeShow
#FightOnPenn
