After a six-inning stalemate following the third inning, the Quakers fell to the Lions 4-3 in a devastating 10th-inning loss. Now in the losers’ bracket, Penn (21-19, 13-8 Ivy) is set to face Yale — the Ivy League regular season champion — at noon on Saturday.
The Quakers and the Lions (25-17, 16-5) both fielded impressive pitchers, totaling 14 and eight total strikeouts, respectively. Ultimately, the Quakers would oversee five straight innings with 11 total players stranded on base. And despite a strong performance from sophomore left-handed pitcher Marty Coyne, a single at the end of the 10th inning from Columbia outfielder Anton Lazits gave Lions outfielder and Ivy League Player of the Year Sam Miller the winning run.
“I just wish we would have shown up a little bit more on offense,” coach John Yurkow said. “It’s tough to lose a game like [this] in extra innings. [We got] a chance to score and win, but [we] just couldn’t get it done.”
The Quakers clinched the Ivy League championship title in 2023 after entering as the No. 1 seed and winning all three games. In 2024, they entered as the fourth seed before holding onto their title after three straight victories. This year, the Quakers entered as the No. 3 seed after an 11-3 loss to second-seeded Columbia to close out the regular season.
The Lions had a strong showing in the first inning with right-handed pitcher Joe Sheets as their starter on the mound. Sheets retired the Quakers’ side after just eight pitches. But the Quakers had a star of their own in senior right-handed pitcher Noah Millikan, a consistent starting pitcher with a 5.31 ERA and 53 strikeouts. But Millikan had a shaky start, giving up three runs and ending with the Lions leading 3-0 on a ball that split the middle.
Despite a scoreless second inning, the momentum shifted in the Quakers’ favor in the third inning as Sheets struggled. Capitalizing on back-to-back walks from Sheets, a double from sophomore outfielder Gavin Degnan helped put Penn on the scoreboard, and a two-run single from junior infielder Davis Baker brought the score to 3-3 at the top of the third.
The game came to a standstill from the fourth to the seventh innings with the fourth and fifth innings being a battle between Sheets and Millikan.
Despite his lackluster first inning, Millikan stood strong, allowing no hits until the end of the sixth inning. In the fifth inning, the Lions substituted Sheets for right-handed pitcher Alex Sotiropoulos, who started with an immediate strikeout against the Quakers. Sotiropoulos would continue the stalemate, also allowing no hits.
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“It was one out after we tied the game up, and we just didn’t get ahead with runners in scoring position, especially with two outs,” Yurkow said.
It was now a battle between the Ivy League’s best reliever and the Ivy League’s best hitter.
After giving up a hit in the sixth inning, Millikan was substituted out for Coyne, a relief pitcher and unanimous first team All-Ivy selection who boasted a 1.46 ERA – the lowest in the Ivy League. Soon after the start of the seventh inning, Miller came to the plate and Coyne proved victorious, retiring the Lions in the seventh and eighth innings. A double play from the Lions held the Quakers off the board in the eighth, with both teams still tied 3-3 heading into the ninth inning.
To get a fresh pair of hands on the mound, the Lions substituted Sotiropoulos for right-handed pitcher Tomas Lopez. Lopez kept the Lions’ hopes for an Ivy League championship alive by immediately freezing Baker, and his consecutive fastballs struck out the Quakers’ next two batters. Though Coyne gave up a leadoff walk, a double play off a bunt was shortly followed by a strikeout, plunging the game into extra innings.
“I thought [Columbia’s pitchers] did a good job. I think they challenged us with a lot of fastballs. I just don’t think we’re ready to hit them,” Yurkow said. “I thought we started guessing a little bit and we were in between pitches. That’s what really prevented us from driving any balls after we tied the game up.”
Coyne’s tough-as-nails performance began to falter in the 10th inning. After striking out four of the five batters he faced, Lopez gave the Lions a chance at victory.
The Lions then followed with a one-two punch of Miller and infielder/right-handed pitcher Griffin Palfrey — the all-time RBI leader in the Ivy League. A line drive into left field from Miller was the first successful hit against Coyne, bringing him to first base. A walk against Palfrey brought Miller to second base, with Miller winning the game off a single on the following play.
“I just wish we would have shown up a little bit more on offense,” Yurkow said. “It’s tough to lose a game like [this] in extra innings. [We got] a chance to score and win, but [we] just couldn’t get it done.”
The Quakers face off against first-seeded Yale at noon tomorrow for the third game of the Ivy League tournament.
