Baseball starts well

Spring break was not all fun and games on the California beaches for the Penn baseball team. Just games -- seven of them to be exact. The Quakers' performance at the Cal State-San Bernadino tournament in California where they went 5-2 far outpaced last year's 4-5 showing in Florida. These spring training results look even better for Penn, considering most of its opponents were already well into their seasons. "It was a good trip," junior pitcher Ed Haughey said. "We started slow, but we finished really strong. The team's really positive and looking forward to the season." The most impressive triumph of the trip came in the season opener, where the Quakers posted a 12-10 slugfest victory over No. 12 Cal.-Riverside. The Quakers suffered a letdown after their early heroics, however. Penn dropped two consecutive close games to Division II Chapman and NAIA Biola by 5-3 and 5-4 margins, respectively. At this point, fearing a repeat of last year's poor performance and lack of intensity over spring break, senior captains Eddie MacDonald and Tim Shannon called a players-only meeting to refocus the team on baseball. "The captains did a great job of providing leadership," junior first baseman Allen Fischer said. "We became much more focused and determined to win, rather than going out at night and partying." That meeting woke up the Quakers, and their bats. In the final four games of the tournament, Penn reeled off four consecutive victories while amassing 43 runs. The Quakers are optimistic about what they hope to be a very successful season. If spring break was any indication, it surely will be.