PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania baseball team went to extra innings with East Carolina on Sunday afternoon, but was on the losing side of an 8-7 final against the Pirates at Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
 
The Quakers fall to 3-10 on the year while the hosts improve to 12-8-1.
 
Quaker Notemeal
 *The Quakers went to extra innings for the second time this season on Sunday, but East Carolina hung on for its 12th win of the campaign.
 
*Ryan Taylor led the offensive charge with a perfect 3-for-3 afternoon. He registered an RBI with a solo home run in the third inning, a double, two runs scored and drew two walks.
 
*Junior catcher Qwynn Ahearn finished the outing with three RBIs when he launched a three-run homer to give Penn a 4-1 lead in the third frame. He also scored a run and drew a walk.
 
*Gavin Degnan logged his third home run of the season with a two-run shot in the eighth inning to give the Red and Blue a 7-5 advantage.

*Freshman Nick Newburn (0-1) collected his first loss of the campaign, despite allowing only one hit in in his inning of work.
 
*Jay Secretarski (1), Nick Spaventa (1), Gavin Collins (1), Jack Warner (1) and Michael Powell (1) accounted for the rest of the Quakers' hits.
 
How It Happened
Thomas Shurtleff and Colby Weber received the starting nods on the mound on Sunday afternoon and made quick work of the first set of batters they encountered.

The Pirates broke through with their first run of the day in the second inning. Davin Whitaker was up against two outs when he knocked a double down the right-field line and was sent home shortly after by a Colby Wallace RBI single.
 
Penn's offense went to work in the third inning. Taylor put the Red and Blue on the board with a solo home run to right center, followed by Powell and Secretarski drawing walks. Reliever Gavin Marley retired the next two Quakers, leaving Ahearn with work to do facing two outs. The Woodbine, Md. native was down in the count (1-2) prior to launching a three-run homer that traveled 359 feet over the wall in right field to put Penn in front, 4-1.

Jack Herring responded with a homer of his own in the bottom of the third frame, which was a two-run shot to reduce ECU's deficit to a single run (4-3).

Shurtleff and reliever Ethan Rose battled through the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, not allowing either offense to get any sort of rhythm.
 
The Red and Blue tallied their fifth run of the day in the seventh inning, and it started with a double down the right-field line by Taylor. Powell was due up next and while facing a full count, the sophomore lined one to right field, allowing Taylor to cross home plate.
 
East Carolina tied the ballgame in the bottom of the seventh with a two-run home run from Whitaker. Penn went to the bullpen immediately, bringing in Aidan von Zuben and the sophomore got out of the inning without allowing another run.

The Quakers' lead (7-5) was restored in the eighth frame courtesy of a two-run home run by Degnan, his third of the year. Spaventa reached first base on a walk and Degnan did the rest with a rocket to left field that traveled 389 feet.

The hosts knotted the contest at seven runs apiece in the bottom of the eighth inning after a series of walks. Jeff Sabater ended up scoring on a wild pitch and a sac fly from Wallace allowed Austin Irby to waltz across the dish.

Despite a 1-2-3 inning for Newburn in the ninth frame, the Pirates took Game Three in extra innings.

Michael Kalinich came in to pinch hit for Grady Lenahan and while facing a 1-1 count, he drove a walk-off home run to deep center field to secure ECU's 12^th victory of the season.

Up Next
Penn returns to Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium at 3 p.m. on Wednesday for a single game against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Fans can catch all the action on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available.

For the latest on Penn baseball, follow @PennBaseball on X (formerly Twitter), @Penn_Baseball on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.