University of Pennsylvania Athletics

PHILADELPHIA - The University of Pennsylvania baseball team swept Brown 11-3 and 7-3 on Saturday at Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium to improve to a conference-best 14-7 record. The visitors dropped to 13-8 following Saturday's results and can no longer capture the regular-season title. Penn will be crowned regular-season champions if Yale fails to sweep Dartmouth next weekend in New Haven.

Prior to the morning's first pitch, the Red and Blue's eight seniors from the class of 2026 were honored for all their hard work and dedication over their careers in University City. The seniors are Reed Farrell, Ryan Taylor, Jarrett Pokrovsky, Thomas Shurtleff, Davis Baker, Andrew Ruggeri, Jake Moss, and John Cerwinski.

Quaker Notemeal
*Nick Spaventa (3-for-3) and Ernie Echevarria (3-for-5) paced the Quakers on offense in Game 1, recording three hits and two RBI apiece.

*Juniors Gavin Degnan (2-for-3) and Nick Guachione (2-for-5) left the yard in the seventh and eighth innings to put the finishing touches on a dominant victory.
 
*Jay Secretarski, Pokrovsky, and Nick O'Brien each tacked on a base knock and combined for three RBI.

*It was a fitting scene on the bump for Penn as Moss earned his fourth win of the season on Senior Day with a five-strikeout performance.

*The Red and Blue were led by Degnan and Pokrovsky in Game 2, as the duo each finished with two hits and two RBI.

*The power surge continued in the second matchup, but this time it was Ernie Echevarria and Pokrovsky doing the damage at the dish.

*Spaventa, Taylor, Guachione, and Gavin Collins were the remaining Quakers to log a hit in Game 2.

*Freshman right-hander Thomas Egbert notched the first win of his career in the series' rubber match, while fellow classmate Ben Moulin earned the starting nod and tossed four Ks in 5.1 innings.

How It Happened (Game 1)
Starters Drew Nelson and Nick Newburn had their way in the first two innings of the day to keep the contest scoreless.

The hosts struck first in the third inning with two runs on three hits. O'Brien provided the offense with some juice after his leadoff single through the left side and Taylor drew a walk in the next at-bat. Secretarski's single through the left side drove in the first run of the day and the Quakers' lead quickly doubled thanks to Pokrovsky's RBI single.
 
Penn's offensive momentum carried right into the fourth frame, taking a 6-0 advantage on three hits. Nelson's fatigue began to show after allowing back-to-back singles and a walk, leaving Secretarski in prime position to do some damage. The Asheville, N.C. native drew a walk of his own, scoring Echevarria. It became a 4-0 ballgame when Degnan also walked. Spaventa made it six unanswered runs with a two-RBI single through the left side that drove in Taylor and Secretarski. Reliever Matt Wilmarth escaped the inning by retiring Pokrovsky and Collins.  

The Bears pulled two runs back in the middle innings, but the Quakers wouldn't stay silent for long. Collins was hit by a pitch to start the seventh frame and the hosts' lead extended to five runs (7-2) following Echevarria's RBI double down the left-field line. With no outs, Guachione was given the green light to swing away and capitalized by launching the first home run of his career over the wall in left field to grant the QuakeShow a 9-2 lead.

A leadoff home run from Degnan in the eighth inning made it an eight-run gap (10-2) and it swiftly increased to nine runs after Echevarria rang up his second RBI with a double to left field that drove in Spaventa.

Moss took care of the Bears' lineup in the top of the ninth to secure a huge victory for the Quakers that forced a rubber match.

How It Happened (Game 2)
Similarly to Game 1, neither side put a run on the board in the first frame. However, the Quakers took a 2-0 lead in the second.

Spaventa made his mark with a leadoff double to left-center field, but he wasn't on base for very long. Pokrovsky was due up next and the co-captain's homer to left field guided the hosts to a dream start in Game 2.

The third and fourth frames were scoreless as starting pitchers Dylan Reid and Moulin began to heat up. Penn's freshman starter notched four strikeouts and allowed only four hits in 5.1 innings to give his side some much-needed length on the hill.

The Red and Blue could not have asked for a better start to the fifth inning as Echevarria crushed his first home run of the season down the left-field line to extend their lead to 3-0. Taylor singled through the left side later on, but Reid recovered well to end the at-bat by retiring Secretarski.

Brown's combination of Matt Luigs and Alex Benevento cut its deficit to just one run during the sixth frame. Luigs' leadoff single to right field warmed up the bats and Benevento followed up with a two-run homer down the left-field line.

Luigs knotted the game at three runs apiece with an RBI single that drove in Chris Butera, but the Red and Blue had a few more tricks up their sleeve. Christian Keel came in to pitch for the visitors, and the Quakers posted four runs and two hits on the reliever.

Taylor scored the game-winning run on a fielder's choice that drove in Echevarria and Degnan followed up with a two-RBI double to left field that gave the Red and Blue some breathing room (6-3). Penn's final run of the day waltzed across the dish courtesy of Spaventa's sac fly.

Cerwinski capped off the Saturday sweep by keeping the Bears off the board to hand the hosts their 14^th Ivy League triumph.

Up Next
Penn now awaits the winner of the Yale and Dartmouth series next weekend, which will decide the Ancient Eight's regular-season champion. The Red and Blue finished their forty-game slate with a 20-20 overall record.
 
For the latest on Penn baseball, follow @PennBaseball on X (formerly Twitter), @Penn_Baseball on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.