Ivy League Player of the Week Ryan Porter Leads Cornell Baseball Series Win at Towson

As head coach Dan Pepicelli stated at the beginning of the season, “coaching a group that has so much grit and guts is so much fun.” This past weekend’s three-game series at Towson, Maryland was a test of Cornell’s mettle. 

The team played two games on Saturday and one game on Sunday. After the games, senior outfielder/pitcher Ryan Porter was named the Ivy League Player of the Week, ending the weekend with a .636 batting average across the two winning games. He went seven for 11 at the plate, hitting three home runs and driving in nine RBIs. Porter also achieved a 1.545 slugging percentage and a 2.182 on-base plus slugging. 

At the baseball diamond, the Red took the lead in the third inning of the first game of the series when senior infielder Max Jensen’s sacrifice fly ball allowed sophomore infielder Luke Johnson to find home plate. 

Towson answered in the next two innings to take a 2-1 lead over Cornell. Jensen put the Red back in the game with a run thanks to sophomore catcher Mark Quatrani’s RBI ground ball. 

The Tigers broke the momentary tie in the seventh inning, widening the score gap from 2-2 to 5-2. In the next inning, the Red brought the score back to a tie with three runs. Jensen and Quatrani connected again as Quatrani homered, allowing Jensen to add another point to the scoreboard. 

A wild pitch gave sophomore infielder Kevin Hager the ability to score the third equalizing point. 

Entering the ninth inning with an even score, the Red needed to put points on the board to secure the game. However, it would struggle to find its offensive groove. 

This inability to score gave Towson the opportunity to take the home game — and it did just that as the Tigers’ Brian Heckelman made it to home plate. 

While offensive woes cost Cornell the first game in the series, game two of the Saturday doubleheader offered a chance at redemption. 

To start the first inning, the Red took the lead as senior outfielder John Quinlan scored. In the next inning, Quatrani was hit by a pitch while the bases were loaded, which allowed  Porter to find home plate. 

Up by two, the Red entered the third inning with the same offensive mentality, scoring three more points to solidify its 5-0 lead. But the Tigers were not going down without a fight. Towson put up four points in the third inning thanks to Max D’Alessandro’s grand slam.  

Unlike the game just hours before, the Red came up with a quick answer to the Tigers’ momentum, scoring three points in two innings and holding the Tigers to two points. 

With a close score of 8-6 heading into the sixth inning, Cornell needed to take firm control of the game to secure a win — and that is exactly what it did. Porter hit a home run while the bases were loaded, single-handedly causing the lead to grow by 50 percent. 

And the Red was not stopping there — an RBI from Quinlan allowed junior outfielder Caden Wildman to add a point to the scoreboard, and Quinlan would later steal home plate to score another point. 

Quatrani earned another RBI on his next at-bat, sending Jensen home. By the end of the sixth inning, the Red were up 15-6. 

The game wrapped up in Cornell’s favor with a final score of 18-7. The next day, the Red faced the Tigers one more time. 

The game was scoreless until senior outfielder Jakobi Davis hit a home run that allowed the Red to take the lead. In the fourth inning, Cornell’s offense came to life as Porter and Quinlan each hit home runs and combined for 3 RBIs. 

Towson’s answer came with two points in the fifth inning, taking the score to 4-2. While the sixth inning was scoreless, the seventh saw the Red gain three more points thanks to loading the bases and a botched pitch from Towson. 

With a 7-2 lead, the Red scored one more point, and the defense held the Tigers to three runs. Cornell was able to win the final game of the series 8-5 — and the series overall.

Now, the Red turns its attention to its first Ivy League game of the season at Yale. The series of play will start on Saturday, March 22 at George H.W. Bush Field, and all three games will be available to watch on ESPN+. 

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