After the Quakers’ conference success during the 2026 regular season, the Red and Blue punched a ticket to the Ivy League baseball tournament as the No. 2 seed with a 14-5 conference record. Their first round foe, Brown, was seeded No. 3 in the conference with a 13-8 record during conference play.
Penn vs. Brown
The Quakers got out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first thanks to an RBI double from junior outfielder Gavin Degnan.
Following a pitching change, coach John Yurkow made it with one out left in the top of the third, pulling freshman right-handed pitcher Nick Newburn for junior relief pitcher Marty Coyne. The junior struggled early on, giving up an RBI double to the Bears to tie the score. A back-and-forth ensued between the two ball clubs from innings four to six, with Brown up 3-2 over the Quakers after Coyne gave up all three runs.
Just as the Bears were beginning to go on a run in the sixth inning, Coyne flipped the switch. The lefty retired the next eight consecutive batters. This, along with two runs by freshman infielder Jay Secretarski and senior outfielder Jarrett Pokrovsky, helped put the Quakers up 4-3 with only two outs remaining by the top of the ninth.
What looked like a game that would send the Quakers to the winners’ bracket turned into an unmitigated disaster. After giving up a single to Brown infielder Matt Luigs and walking outfielder Mika Peterson, Yurkow made a pitching change — pulling Coyne for senior right-hand pitcher Jake Moss.
On a 2-1 count, Brown outfielder Alex Benevento hit a sacrifice fly out to left field, scoring Luigs. The Quakers and the Bears were tied 4-4 when Moss gave up a single and a walk in the next two-plate appearances, sending three Bears on base.
Brown infielder Mark Henshon was next at bat. After earning two balls, Henshon hit an RBI double to bring all three base runners home.
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The Quakers weren’t quite able to make up the scoring gap in the bottom of the ninth, ultimately losing the contest 7-4. The Bears were set to face the Bulldogs in the winners' bracket while the Quakers faced the Lions in the consolation match the following day.
“[Coyne] gave us a chance. We wound up getting the lead late. We got the first out in the ninth, and then a guy had a single. I thought it was a big at-bat. We had a guy left on left, and he wound up working a walk, and that really kind of flipped that inning. But when he came out of the game, it was still a close game,” Yurkow said of the game’s finish. “We just got to find a way to finish games a little bit better.”
Penn vs. Columbia
After a disappointing outing in their matchup against Brown, the Quakers looked to bounce back against Columbia. With both teams having lost their first games of the tournament, the stakes were higher in this second contest. The winner would go on to play the loser of the Yale and Brown matchup with a chance to make the finals, while the loser was eliminated from the tournament entirely.
Both offenses mashed as the matchup began. The Quakers made a statement early with an RBI double from junior first baseman Nick Spaventa, who hit a double to left center field, bringing Degnan home from second base. The Lions responded with singles from Columbia catcher Owen Estabrook and first baseman Jackson Brewer to left-center and left field, respectively, giving Columbia an early lead.
Though the Quakers tied it up at 2-2 in the top of the second with an RBI single from junior infielder Nick O’Brien, freshman left-handed pitcher Ben Moulins was giving up hard contact in the bottom of the second. The Lions pounced on Moulin’s pitches, putting up three runs in the second and scoring five total runs during the first two innings of play.
Although the Quakers cycled through four total arms and gave up just one run in the following seven innings, those at-bat could not seem to overcome the Lions’ early lead. The Quakers lost the game 6-3, ending their season with two consecutive losses in the Ivy League baseball tournament.
“We walked too many guys today again. That’s kind of the same thing as yesterday. Too many freebies,” Yurkow said. “We were able to get one more late, but we just couldn’t push any more across, so unfortunately came out on the short end.”
This marks the end of the line for Penn baseball’s seniors, who have played in four consecutive Ivy League tournaments.
“They played in four conference tournaments, they were a part of two regional teams [and] a couple championships, and I think they just battled to the end,” he said. “I think it’s just a gritty group. I just feel fortunate to be able to spend four years with those seniors. They’re a really good group, both on and off the field. Just did everything the right way. [They] really represented everything you could ask for in a Penn baseball student athlete.”
