NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Quakers took on Yale on Saturday afternoon at George H.W. Bush '48 Field, but the Bulldogs came from behind to secure a 16-14 victory in a 30-run contest. Penn scored runs in four-consecutive innings, however the hosts shut out the visitors in the final three frames to steal Game 1.

Quaker Notemeal
*Senior Ryan Taylor registered five stolen bases in the loss but continues to make history as he now ranks second all-time in the program's record book with 53 stolen bags, passing Bill Graupner (1930-32). He's now six stolen bases away from becoming the all-time leader in the Quakers' history.
 
*Taylor also led Penn at the dish against the Bulldogs, notching three hits, two runs scored and four RBIs.
 
*Nick Spaventa (2-for-4) and Ernie Echevarria (2-for-4) had a quality day offensively, each registering two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored.

*Jay Secretarski, Gavin Degnan, Nick Guachione and Nick O'Brien all logged a base knock to account for the rest of the Red and Blue's 11 hits.

*Senior right-hander Jake Moss was Penn's best performer on the mound, finishing his day with six strikeouts in four innings of work.  

How It Happened
Jack Ohman received the starting nod on the bump for Yale and claimed two strikeouts in the top of the first inning.

The Bulldogs piggybacked off Ohman's momentum and scored the first two runs of the day courtesy of an RBI single from Chris DiPrima. DiPrima would later score on an error at shortstop.

Penn responded quickly in the second inning by garnering five runs on four hits. The Quakers had two runners on base after being hit by pitches and their first run of the day crossed home plate when Echevarria doubled down the left-field line. Ohman walked his next batter before Secretarski ripped a two-RBI single to left field, giving the visitors their first lead of the day (3-2). Taylor and Spaventa both followed up with RBI singles to extend Penn's advantage to three runs (5-2).

Moss retired the hosts in 1-2-3 order in the bottom of the second frame, which featured back-to-back strikeouts for the Manhasset, N.Y. native.

Penn tacked on three more runs in the third inning. With two outs, Echevarria got the offense's wheels turning with a single to right-center field and O'Brien doubled to left field directly after. Secretarski made his way to first after being hit by a pitch, leaving Taylor with work to do at the plate. The second baseman drove in all three baserunners with a bases-clearing three-run double to give the Quakers an 8-2 lead.

Yale battled back in the bottom of the third frame, scoring two runs via back-to-back RBIs from Jack Dauer and DiPrima.

More quality at-bats saw the Red and Blue score their ninth and 10^th runs of the day in the fourth frame. Spaventa and Degnan reached after being hit by a pitch and drawing a walk and Jack Warner's groundout to the pitcher advanced both runners. Spaventa ended up scoring on a wild pitch, while Degnan came home thanks to a perfectly executed squeeze bunt from Echevarria.

The Bulldogs halved their deficit in the bottom of the fourth when Owen Turner laid down a bunt to third base, allowing Colin Sloan to waltz across the dish.

Penn's red-hot outing at the plate continued in the fifth frame, scoring three runs on four hits. Taylor got things going with a leadoff single and later scored when Degnan launched an RBI double to left-center field. Spaventa reached earlier in the inning on a single to second base and he was driven in by Warner's sac fly to center field. Guachione made it a 13-5 ballgame with an RBI double to center field that allowed Degnan to make his way home. Reliever Brett Faccio escaped the inning by getting Secretarski to pop up to second base, despite facing the bases loaded.

Freshman reliever Nick Newburn took over on the mound for Moss in the bottom of the fifth inning and sent the first three Bulldogs he faced back to the dugout.

The Quakers tacked on their final run of the day in the sixth frame. Taylor reached first base on a walk and proceeded to steal second and third to move into scoring position. Spaventa was facing a 1-2 count prior to flying out to right field, but Taylor tagged up and scored to gift Spaventa his second RBI of the afternoon.

Yale responded in the bottom of the sixth with two runs on two hits. Garrett Larsen's two-RBI single cut the deficit to seven runs (14-7) with three innings to go.

The contest's momentum completely shifted in the seventh frame, as the Bulldogs tallied five runs on five hits to make it a 14-12 ballgame. Sloan (1), Jackson Hays (2), Kaiden Dossa (1) and Larsen (1) all notched RBIs to bring the hosts within striking distance of Penn.

The Bulldogs completed the comeback in the eighth inning, recording four runs on two hits and two errors. Sloan ripped an RBI double to left field that scored DiPrima and the hosts took the lead during Turner's at-bat when he laid down a sac bunt to the pitcher that brought both Sloan and Davis Hanson home. Hays scored the Yale's final run of the outing by stealing home.

Reliever Tate Evans secured the victory for Yale by retiring the Quakers in 1-2-3 order in the top of the ninth inning.

Up Next
The QuakeShow is back in action at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. tomorrow for a doubleheader with Yale to wrap up the three-game set. Fans can watch the action on ESPN+ and live stats will be available throughout the day.
 
For the latest on Penn baseball, follow @PennBaseball on X (formerly Twitter), @Penn_Baseball on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.