The baseball team on Monday evening finished off an improbable run in the Ivy League Tournament with their second consecutive conference championship. The Quakers won both games of a doubleheader against Cornell to take home the title and advance to the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.
Penn, the No. 4 seed in the four-team tournament, entered the competition as the underdog. They finished the regular season with a sub-.500 20-22 record, including a barely-above-.500 11-10 mark in Ivy play. On Friday, the Red & Blue got the championship ball rolling by knocking off No. 1 seed Columbia 8-4 at the Lions’ Robertson Field at Satow Stadium in New York City. The victory moved Penn into the winner’s bracket; the Lions had swept the regular-season series.
A maintenance issue at Satow Stadium caused the Tournament to be moved to Montclair State University in Little Falls, New Jersey. On Sunday, the Red & Blue fell to third-seeded Cornell 7-6 in the afternoon, followed by a 9-4 win over second-seeded Princeton Sunday evening to advance to the championship round.
The Red & Blue needed a win over the Big Red on Monday afternoon to force a championship-game showdown for all the marbles. They got one, squeezing out an 11-9 victory. Penn led 6-0 after two innings before Cornell scored five runs in the third to make it a ball game. The game was tied at 8 apiece until the Quakers scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Third-year second baseman Connor Chavez was a beast at the plate, going 3-4 with one home run, four runs, and four RBIs.
The Quakers opened the championship game with a 3-0 advantage after the first inning. They led 7-2 after five innings and it looked like it was going to be a cakewalk, but the Big Red scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 7-6 game.
With two outs in the top of the eight—and Chavez on second—second-year center fielder Ryan Taylor hit a single to third base, which advanced Chavez to third and gave the Red & Blue runners at first and third. Up next, first-year first baseman Nick Spaventa walked, loading the bases. Fourth-year designated hitter Carson Ozmer walked, too, scoring Chavez and putting Penn up 8-6. A wild pitch by Cornell scored Taylor and moved Ozmer to second and Spaventa to third. First-year left fielder Gavin Collins took another base on balls, which reloaded the bases. Third-year catcher Asa Wilson then stepped to the plate and hit a clutch, three-run triple, scoring Spaventa, Ozmer, and Collins. Penn prevailed 12-6.
Chavez, Taylor, fourth-year pitcher Cole Zaffiro, and fourth-year third baseman Wyatt Henseler were named to the All-Tournament Team. Henseler was selected the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Across five games, he batted .375 (9-24) with three home runs and 10 RBIs.
Penn has advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in school history, and the first time in back-to-back years since 1988-89. They will find out their opponent during the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, May 27, at noon.
