Like a lot of Penn students, the members of Penn's men's baseball team have taken advantage of four months of summer vacation to head to Europe.
The Quakers have more than just relaxed sightseeing on their minds. They're on a competitive tour of Italy.
And after the first four games of the trip, the Quakers have added to the ancient country's collection of ruins by leaving the majority of the teams they've faced amidst the rubble.
The Quakers began their trip last Wednesday night with a 10-6 win over Anzio.
Junior Brian Burkett got the win in relief by giving up just one run and striking out six in three innings.
Junior outfielder Ron Rolph was the Quakers offensive star, going 3-4 with a double and three RBIs. Freshman Nick Italiano had a two-hit game with a single and double.
The very next night, the Quakers suffered their first setback, dropping a game to the Nettuno Indians, 8-3.
Junior reliever Matt Hepler took the loss, giving up seven runs -- five of which were earned -- in two innings of relief.
The Quakers took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning, when the Indians put three men across the plate. They did themselves one better in the sixth, putting up a four-spot.
The Quakers got two-hit games out of senior Anthony Napolitano, who tripled and singled.
The team's road then led to Rome, where, like gladiators, the Quakers muscled up as they beat the Italian National Team in the ancient city, 10-8.
Napolitano exploded for a double, a home run, and four RBIs, while junior Jim Mullen added a two-run dinger.
The Quakers 10-spot is even more impressive since the game was called after three innings.
So, sophomore Mark Lacarenza got the win after allowing four runs in two innings.
In the Quakers' next outing, against Florence, freshman Ben Otero pitched four innings and gave up four runs, though only one was earned.
Otero got the win as Senior Kevin McCabe doubled and tripled in the Quakers 9-5 victory. Senior third baseman Glen Ambrosius, Penn's all-time hits leader, added two singles.
The Quakers took the field in Italy again last night, but results were unavailable at press time.
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