Baseball begins Ivy season

Although it is still only March and your favorite major league baseball team is still deciding what to do with all its two-sport athletes, the run for the Ivy championship begins tomorrow for the Penn baseball team. The Quakers (8-3) begin their Ivy League season with four games against last season's Gehrig Division-champion Columbia Lions (2-11). Penn first travels to Coakley Field for a noon doubleheader tomorrow before returning home for a high noon rematch Sunday afternoon at Bower Field. The games in New York, which will be both squad's first Ivy contests of the season, will also be Columbia's first home games of the season. "I feel that it is very important for us to start well in the league, especially in our division," Penn coach Bob Seddon said. "We've had a much better start than most teams around and that should help us out, especially from a confidence standpoint. " As their record indicates, the Lions are one of those teams who are not off to a great start. Despite their dismal record and the fact Penn believes it is the superior team, the Quakers are respecting their opponent, which is averaging more than seven runs a game. To this point the Lions have had a problem with pitching. In fact, the Columbia staff has given up a minimum of five runs per game, and has allowed at least eight runs in nine of its 13 games. Penn hopes that trend will continue against a starting pitching quartet of sophomore Steve Ceterko and senior Richard Spencer tomorrow and senior Matt Ripperger and sophomore Tom Cusick Sunday. Ceterko is the ace of the staff, despite his 0-2 record and 12.42 ERA this season. The legitimate pro prospect had an outstanding rookie season last year, posting a 5-2 record with a team-leading 2.32 ERA. The 6-foot-7 phenom struck out 49 in 42.2 innings while walking only 23. "It is very hard to hit when you have a 6-7 guy bearing down on you," Columbia coach Paul Fernandes said of last season's two-time Ivy Rookie of the Week. The Quakers are not worried, however. The entire Penn staff has had excellent command of its pitches and has been throwing extremely well of late, with the exception of a late inning collapse against Rider Tuesday. The Quakers will counter the Lions with junior hurlers Dan Galles and Lance Berger tomorrow. Sunday's prospective starters are junior Ed Haughey and freshman Alex Hayden. The Quaker pitching staff, although aware of Columbia's offensive prowess, is by no way intimidated. The Lion attack is sparked by junior outfielder B Teale, who has hit .345 and driven in 14 runs in 13 games. Senior Derek England and freshman Jason Wynn, who are both batting over .400, are setting the table for the Lions. Penn is led by Galles, who is 3-0 with a 4.91 ERA, and Berger (2-0, 1.23 ERA). "We know that we can shut anyone down," Galles said. "We certainly have the capability -- this is the best staff since I've been here. It's just a matter of going out and executing." The Quaker bats have also been explosive all season, giving their rotation plenty of support. An astounding eight of Penn's starters are batting above the .350 mark on the young season. It is that depth and consistency, as well as Seddon's aggressive running style, that has given opposition pitching fits. The basepaths are always teeming with Quakers. "It's important for us to jump on them early, which we're definitely capable of doing," Penn senior captain and right fielder Tim Shannon said. "If we can do that, it will be a lot easier for the pitchers to relax and settle into a groove." Shannon may not know how right he is. The one thing the Quakers don't want to do is go into the late innings of a close ballgame. Penn has scored only two of their 94 runs on the year in the final two innings of a ballgame. The Quakers are aware the race for the Ivy League championship and a potential NCAA berth begins not only this early in the season, but also very early in the game.