Two-way threats to lead Baseball against Cornell

Shannon, SimonianShannon, Simonianpitch and play theShannon, Simonianpitch and play thefield for the Quakers Don't call them utility players. Penn baseball senior co-captain Mike Shannon and sophomore Armen Simonian have been pulling double-duty all season. In addition to being the top two pitchers for the 19-12 Quakers, the righthanded hurlers also play field positions. Shannon anchors the Quakers at first base when not pitching, while Simonian has seen time in both the infield and outfield. Both have been pitching since they began playing baseball in Little League -- Shannon was eight years old and Simonian was only six. Shannon was a shortstop back then, a position he played until he came to Penn, when he switched to third base. After a freshman season cut short by a torn rotator cuff, Shannon moved to first base and began pitching. His first love, however, is hitting. Shannon led the Quakers with 70 hits last season and currently has the third-best batting average in the Ivy League at .405. "I've had more success hitting than pitching," Shannon said. "Ideally, I'd like to play third [base] and hit. If I can't do that, I'd like to do both, pitch and play the field." Simonian is able to fill in at first, second and right field. After playing the middle infield and pitching most of his career, Simonian moved to the outfield this season to help rest his arm, but he would rather face the pressure of being on the mound. "That's the position where I can take control of what's going on in the game," Simonian said. "I like having that power to be able to set the tone and the tempo. You throw the ball when you're ready to throw the ball, and all eyes are on you at all times. I like the matchup of me trying to get the ball past the batter and make him not reach base." Simonian has proved extremely adept at that task this year. His 2.28 ERA leads the Ivy League. He will start the first game against Cornell (3-5 Ivy League, 10-18) Sunday, while junior A.B. Fischer takes the mound in the latter half of the doubleheader. Shannon is behind Simonian with a 3.73 ERA, but he is atop the Ivy strikeout list with 37 Ks. He will be the first starter in Saturday's twin bill, also against the Bi Red, to be followed by lefty Mike Greenwood. Shannon also leads the Quakers at the plate. Simonian, in a season-long hitting slump, is mired below the Mendoza line. While Simonian would prefer to be able to help Penn's offense, he has not allowed his performance with the bat to influence his throwing. "You can't take one bad at-bat into the field or onto the mound and let it affect you," Simonian said. "I haven't been playing up to my potential hitting-wise, but I don't think a pitcher should be an easy out. I love to hit, and I have a lot of respect for pitchers in the major leagues who take pride in their hitting." While it may seem a difficult task, both Shannon and Simonian have managed to separate the two parts of their game. When pitching, they are totally focused on getting hitters out and do not allow a bad at-bat to affect their performance on the mound. "I'm in a different zone," Shannon said. "My job that game is pitching, and, if I pick up a few hits on the way, it's icing on the cake. Hitting is secondary." This weekend, Shannon and Simonian will face off against a pair of Cornell multi-talents in senior Tim Ryan and sophomore John Douglas. Douglas is the Big Red's top pitcher with a 2.19 ERA in eight appearances. He has held opponents to a .224 batting average. In the field, Douglas has a .310 batting average while playing third base. The Quakers have beaten the Big Red 12 straight times. With Princeton close behind Penn in the Gehrig Division standings, the Quakers cannot afford to take this weekend's games lightly. "Cornell, right now, is in a position where they can hurt us in the standings," Simonian said. "We're going to do all we can to maintain our position and keep everyone else down." And for Shannon and Simonian, that means shutting the Big Red down, while making sure they don't get shut down themselves. Just don't call them utility players.

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