PHILADELPHIA – Needing extra innings and a clutch walk-off single from Ryan Taylor—who came into the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning—the University of Pennsylvania baseball team finished off a sweep of archrival Princeton, 7-6 in 12 innings, Saturday afternoon at Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium.
 
The Quakers have a winning record for the first time in 2025 at 13-12 overall, improving to 7-2 in Ivy League play, while the Tigers drop their fifth game in a row and fall to 7-22, 4-5.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn finishes off its first series sweep of Princeton overall since 2022 and first at home since winning all four games in 2017.
 
*It's the first time since 2023 the Quakers have swept at least two Ivy League series in one campaign. That year, Penn had three series sweeps—Dartmouth, Brown, and Columbia—en route to the team's Ivy regular-season title and ultimately the inaugural Ivy League Tournament crown and NCAA regional berth.
 
*The Quakers ramp their win streak to five in a row, the second streak of five or more games this year. Penn won seven straight from March 14-23.
 
*This is the fourth time this season Penn has gone to extra innings, and the ninth non-nine inning game of the year. This game was the longest innings-wise (12) and the longest time-wise as well (4:20).
 
*On top of the being the longest game of the year, the afternoon also started with a 35-minute rain delay, first pitch from Tommy Lasorda Field thrown at 12:35 p.m.
 
*Taylor delivered Penn's second walk-off hit of the season and the second in Ivy play after Jarrett Pokrovsky had one to kick off conference action on March 22 vs. Harvard.
 
*Six Quakers—Davis Baker (2-for-6), Gavin Collins (2-for-6), Pokrovsky (3-for-5), Ernie Echevarria (2-for-6), Cole McGonigal (2-for-3), and Taylor (2-for-3)—had multi-hit games.
 
*Pokrovsky went 3-for-5 at the plate with a double, two runs scored, and an RBI. He's hitting .500 (18-for-36) in Ivy League play this season, leading the conference by a healthy margin.
 
*Penn pitching had 19 strikeouts on the afternoon, the team's most in a game since May 13, 2018 at Yale when the Quakers struck out 21 Bulldogs.
 
*Connor Darling and Thomas Shurtleff (1-2) combined for just one unearned run on one hit in the final six innings of the contest. Darling K'd five in three innings, allowing one hit and the one run.
 
*Shurtleff pitched brilliantly by tossing three no-hit innings with five strikeouts to pick up his first win of the year. His ERA lowers to 0.55, which leads the team and ranks second among all Ivy pitchers. If his ERA qualified—due to only pitching a total of 16.1 innings—it would rank second in the nation as well behind Yale's Jack Ohman (0.23).
 
*Pokrovsky led the Penn offense over the three-game set against the Tigers by slashing .583/.667/.833, going 7-for-13 at the plate with three doubles, two RBIs, four runs, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch. Spaventa hit .385 (5-for-13) with a home run, two doubles, and four RBIs.
 
*Shurtleff pitched twice this weekend, tossing 4.2 shutout innings with eight strikeouts and zero walks. He had a win and a save against Princeton.
 
*Fighting for first place in the Ivy League standings, both Penn and Columbia ended its Saturdays with walk-off hits. The Lions started the day with a walk-off grand slam vs. Cornell while the Quakers finished it off with a walk-off single in extras against Princeton. Penn and Columbia enter the fourth weekend of Ancient Eight play tied for first at 7-2.

How It Happened
After Tobin retired the side in the top of the first inning, Penn teed off on Princeton in the bottom of the inning with three runs on three hits to take a 3-0 lead. It started with a leadoff double for Baker, advancing to third on Collins' fly out, scoring on an RBI single for Pokrovsky. Spaventa then drove in a pair of runs to make the lead three.
 
Tobin loaded the bases on three base hits in the second, but struck out the final two hitters he faced to strand the side.
 
Princeton capitalized on a leadoff double, a passed ball, and a walk to score its first run of the contest on a sacrifice fly in the top of the third. An RBI double and second sac fly tied the game up at 3-3.
 
The Quakers re-took the lead in the bottom of the third when Echevarria's two-out single through the right side plated Collins, now 4-3.
 
Tobin danced out of trouble in the fourth after giving up two walks in the first three at-bats, but left runners on second and third to head to the bottom of the frame unbothered. Aidan von Zuben replaced Tobin to begin the fifth, surrendering a leadoff walk, a one-out single, and then an RBI double down the left field line as the Tigers evened the game at 4-4. The next batter, Grant Werdesheim, reached on a bunted fielder's choice, as Jordan Kelly scored on an E2 to take a 5-4 lead.
 
That slim Princeton lead held for the next 1 ½ innings before tacking on a sixth run against Connor Darling in the top of the seventh, extending the cushion to 6-4. Darling got Werdesheim out swinging for the second out and then Echevarria threw Caden Shapiro out at first trying to steal to end the inning.
 
Darling threw scoreless eighth and ninth innings, the latter of which he struck out the side in order to send the game to the bottom of the ninth with the Quakers trailing by two runs.
 
Taylor doubled down the right-field line to open the Penn half of the ninth, as Connor McCabe pinch hit for Nick O'Brien. The freshman scored Taylor on a double to left field, cutting the Princeton lead to 6-5. Baker came through in the clutch once again when he ripped a single to left center, scoring McCabe to tie the game up at 6-6. With Baker on base as the winning run, Pokrovsky singled through the left side to put runners on first and second with one out. Spaventa grounded out and Echevarria lined out to send the game to extras. Shurtleff pitched the top of the 10th inning for the Quakers, striking out the first batter he went up against looking, marking the fourth consecutive punchout for the closer combined with Friday's outing. He hit the next batter, but got Jake Koonin to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the frame. Both teams couldn't muster an inch over the next two innings, as Shurtleff pitched his third inning in the top of the 12th, striking out the Princeton side in order.
 
Pokrovsky began the bottom of the 12th with a double down the left-field line, getting over to third base on Echevarria's one-out single. Cole McGonigal loaded the bases when he was intentionally walked. With two outs—after Michael Powell struck out swinging—Taylor put the team on his back and delivered the walk-off knock, a single to right center field as Pokrovsky scored the winning run and the team ran out of the dugout to celebrate with the hero in right center field. Up Next
Penn will travel the turnpike to face Villanova Tuesday in Plymouth Meeting, first pitch set for 3:25 p.m.
 
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