Baseball succumbs

The season came down to one weekend -- three games against Rolfe Division winner Yale. Unfortunately for the Penn baseball team, the Quakers were edged out for the Ivy League crown at Palmer Field in Middletown, Conn., last weekend, falling in the best-of-three game series, 2-1, to Yale. The Quakers completed their season at 25-12-1. The Elis (22-17) will play the winner of the Northeast Conference to determine which league will be represented in the NCAA tournament. Yale has won both Ivy crowns since the league's formation following the collapse of the Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League, which included the eight Ivy League teams and Army and Navy. Penn fell in the Yale series opener, 7-1. Ed Haughey pitched a complete game for the Quakers, but received little support by his fielders. Nine Penn errors, four by senior shortstop Eddie MacDonald, led to five unearned runs. It was Haughey's first loss in seven decisions this season. Facing elimination, Penn rebounded in Game 2 behind the strong arm of junior pitcher Dan Galles, who has been named team captain for next season's Penn baseball team. Galles (8-2) lasted all nine innings, fanning 10 Elis en route to an 8-4 Quaker win. In the decisive third game, Yale bested the Quakers 5-1. "It was just two good teams going out to war," junior first baseman Allen Fischer said. "It was a battle. The whole season came down to nine innings of baseball. We live for those situations. It's what baseball is all about." Eddie MacDonald scored the Quakers' lone run in the first inning. After reaching base on an infield single, he moved to third on a pair of sacrifices, then scored on a throwing error. Penn kept a 1-0 advantage until the fifth inning when the wind in the Quakers' sails vanished. With two on and two out, Penn sophomore starting pitcher appeared to be ready to get out of the tough situation. Unfortunately for the Quakers, Yale rightfielder Thompson hit a routine fly to center field. Penn centerfielder Shawn Turner, however, tripped and misplayed the ball, allowing two Eli runs to score. "The series came down to [Yale] making the plays and getting key hits when they had to," sophomore catcher Rick Burt said. "They stepped up when they had to, and we didn't." Penn earned the right to play in the Ivy title series, which pits the winner of the Gehrig and Rolfe Divisions, by sweeping Columbia in a pair of fiercely contested games at Bower Field. The Quakers needed a two-game sweep in order to play Yale in the playoff series. The weekend started off slowly as the Lions took an early 3-0 advantage. But Penn received several key hits in the bottom of the seventh to squeak past Columbia and move into the driver's seat in the series. "Ed threw really well," Burt said. "He came out and had little trouble. He threw the whole game, even the extra inning." Then coach Bob Seddon handed the ball to Galles. "Whenever we need a win, he like to pitch," Burt said of Galles. "He was in trouble in the final inning. He stepped up and struck out the last batter. That's typical. That's Dan Galles." Behind a strong complete-game effort, the Quakers swept the Saturday series and advanced into the Ivy League playoffs. "We gave it our best," Fischer said. "That's why you play a sport --Eto be the hero or the goat. We've excelled in pressure situations all season long. Against Columbia, we had to win. And that weekend we were the heros. We were so excited to win in front of the home crowd."