PRINCETON, N.J. – The University of Pennsylvania baseball team began its three-game set against Princeton on Friday afternoon at Clarke Field, but the hosts walked away with an 8-6 victory that came down to the wire. The Quakers took an early 1-0 lead in the third inning, but the Tigers battled back to earn their fifth Ivy League win of the season.

Penn dropped to 14-17 overall following Friday's result, while Princeton advanced to 11-21.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*The Red and Blue tallied four more hits than Princeton (14-10), but the hosts were more efficient with their trips to the plate.
 
*Six Quakers finished the outing with two hits, including Jay Secretarski, Nick Spaventa, Gavin Degnan, Ernie Echevarria, Gavin Collins, and Nick O'Brien.

*Spaventa paced the offense with two RBI, which came on a single to left field in the third frame and a fielder's choice in the seventh.
 
*Secretarski, Degnan, and Echevarria were the only Quakers to register an extra-base hit.

*Junior left-hander Marty Coyne was charged with his fourth loss of the campaign but added five strikeouts to his 2026 total in the defeat.
 
How It Happened
Elliot Eaton earned the starting nod on the bump for Princeton and left his first frame of action unscathed despite allowing a leadoff walk and a double from Secretarski. Sophomore right-hander Connor Darling made his third start of the year for Penn and was hot out of the gates, retiring the Tigers in order, including back-to-back strikeouts.
 
Eaton made quick work of the Quakers in the top of the second, sending them back to the dugout in order. The pitcher's duel continued as Darling retook the mound and the Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J. native registered his third punchout to keep the hosts off the board.

Penn took a narrow 1-0 lead in the third inning on two hits. O'Brien created some offensive momentum with a leadoff single to left-center field and Taylor followed by drawing a walk. The Red and Blue's next two batters were retired by Eaton, leaving Spaventa with work to do at the dish. The Pitman, N.J. native was behind in the count (1-2) before he ripped a single through the left side, which gave O'Brien just enough time to dash home.

Princeton took a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning, and it all started with Jake Kernodle's leadoff single to center field. Will Robbins was due up next and only needed one swing to give the hosts the lead with a homer to left center. Isaac Lamson also recorded an RBI in the inning, after driving in Bennett Crerar via a single to right field.
 
Both pitchers dominated the fifth frame, but the Tigers outscored the Red and Blue 3-1 in the sixth. Jack Warner's RBI groundout scored Degnan following his leadoff double to right field, but reliever Charlie Wolf limited the damage by retiring Collins and O'Brien. Robbins launched his second two-run home run of the outing during the hosts' at-bat and the Tigers' sixth run of the contest crossed home plate courtesy of an RBI single from Grant Werdesheim.  

Spaventa notched his second RBI of the game on a fielder's choice in the seventh inning, and it appeared Penn found its rhythm prior to Warner striking out, leaving two Quakers stranded.
 
The Tigers tacked on their final two runs of the afternoon in the bottom of the seventh, which proved to be crucial. Crerar's double down the left-field line drove in Tomas Cernius and Robbins after the duo reached on a single and an intentional walk.

Taylor brought the visitors within four runs of Princeton (8-4) in the eighth frame on a fielder's choice that allowed Echevarria to waltz across the dish. Quakers reliever Josh Katz kept Penn's hopes alive by stifling the Tigers' offensive unit.

The Red and Blue scored two runs on three hits in the final inning, but Justin Kim did just enough out of the bullpen to prevent a comeback for the Quakers.

Three of Penn's first four batters reached base to begin the frame, leaving Echevarria with the bases loaded as he stepped to the dish. The sophomore proceeded to line a single to left field that scored Jarrett Pokrovsky to make it an 8-5 ballgame. Collins then tallied an RBI single of his own, and with one out and bases loaded, Penn trailed by just two runs.

Kim showed grit in crunch time by registering back-to-back strikeouts to hand the Tigers a Game 1 victory.

Up Next
The Red and Blue return to Clarke Field on Saturday for a doubleheader with the Tigers. First pitch is slated for 11:30 a.m. and Game 2 will begin shortly after the conclusion of Game 1. Fans can catch all the action on ESPN+ and live stats will also 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.