Princeton baseball (18–17 overall, 10–5 Ivy League) traveled to Ithaca, N.Y. this weekend for a three-game series, sweeping Cornell (6–23, 5–10) for the first time since 2006. The Tigers had an explosive offensive display and elevated themselves to 44 home runs this season on Friday, breaking Princeton baseball’s previous record of 43 home runs in a season, set in 1996.
“From the very first weekend series of the year against Georgia, our players were confident in their offensive capabilities,“ head coach Scott Bradley wrote to The Daily Princetonian. “This confidence has continued throughout the season. The home runs are the result of a great deal of hard work over the past year.”
Princeton recorded six blasts in their 11–8 win on Friday afternoon, marking the second-most home runs earned in a single game in program history. Junior outfielder Matt Scannell and senior shortstop Eric Marasheski opened the game with a bang, hitting back-to-back home runs to give Princeton a 2–0 lead. Junior first baseman Kyle Vinci and senior second baseman Noah Granet would each add their own two-run shots in the fourth inning to put Princeton up 6–4.
Cornell tied it up at 6–6 in the fifth, but Princeton would tack on another few runs with home runs from first-year catcher Jake Bold and Vinci along with an RBI single from Granet. Princeton ultimately came away with the victory, with senior first baseman Jackson Emus earning the victory on the mound.
The Tigers continued to capitalize on early-inning runs during Saturday’s doubleheader. The top of the Tiger lineup made a statement once again during Saturday’s first game, with Scannell hitting a lead-off double and Marasheski driving him in with a home run in the first inning.
The Big Red would take a 3–2 lead in the second, but an RBI single by Vinci in the third tied the game up. The Tigers took the lead for the rest of the game, with a three-run rocket from junior third baseman Nick DiPietrantonio and a solo shot from senior centerfielder Brendan Cumming putting the Tigers up 7–5 by the fifth. Cornell gave up a bases-loaded walk to Cumming in the sixth inning to put the game away for good, 8–5.
Sophomore Jacob Faulkner pitched the final four innings for the Tigers, throwing a no-hitter until the final out in the ninth inning. He struck out six of the 14 batters he faced to earn the victory.
The Tigers kept the Big Red scoreless in the series finale on Saturday afternoon, thrashing the Big Red 11–0. A bases-loaded RBI single from Vinci, two RBI doubles from Marasheski, a sacrifice fly from senior catcher Carlos Abello, and a solo homerun from Granet gave the Tigers a 6–0 lead by the sixth inning. Junior pitcher Tom Chmielewski commanded the game on the mound, striking out nine and pitching all seven innings.
The highlight of the game for Princeton was a grand slam from Vinci in the final inning, which gave him his 15th RBI of the weekend. His standout performance over this series elevated him to 47 total RBIs this season, which is tied for the fifth-most in a single season in program history. Bradley noted that Vinci missed a good portion of last season due to injury and said that he is excited to have Vinci back as a leading hitter for the team.
Princeton’s explosive offensive display this weekend against Cornell sets them on a five-game winning streak. Princeton is now third in the Ivy League conference, behind Columbia (22–13, 11–4) and Penn (23–12, 11–4). The Tigers will host NJIT (16–21, 6–6 America East) this Wednesday before a crucial three-game series at Yale next weekend.
“We are looking forward to this coming series with Yale,” Bradley said. “Our goal at the beginning of the season was to qualify for the four-team playoff, and we have worked our way into a good position with six games left to play.”
Sarina Sheth is a contributor to the Sports section at the ‘Prince.’
Please direct any corrections requests to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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Hayk YengibaryanAssociate Sports editor Hayk Yengibaryan ’26 covers news stories involving Princeton varsity programs and both current and former varsity athletes.
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