Baseball looks to make Crimson, Big Green blue

For the last four years, baseball coach Bob Seddon has extensively scouted the Dartmouth baseball team before his Penn squad squared off in doubleheaders with the Big Green. And for eight consecutive ballgames, Seddon's Quakers have lost. This year it appears the Penn skipper, in his 25th season at the helm in the Quakers' dugout, is trying a different strategy. "To be perfectly honest, I don't know very much about them. Nothing really," Seddon admitted last night. "They've been our nemesis for the past several years, though," he continued. "Last year, they almost cost us the Gehrig Division title. I don't know what it is." Seddon hopes to end the eight-game streak this weekend at Bower Field. Penn (7-8, 0-0 Ivy League) hosts Harvard (2-5, 0-0) tomorrow for a noon doubleheader and the Big Green Sunday for another high noon affair in the Ancient Eight's first weekend of league play. The Quakers will send senior Ed Haughey to the hill in the opener against Harvard. Haughey is 3-1 with a 2.88 ERA this season for the Red and Blue. "With only seven-inning games, it is very important for Ed to get us off to a good start," Seddon said. "Winning the first game is always crucial." Countering Haughey will be Jamie Irving, the Crimson ace who defeated Penn two years ago. In three games this season, Irving has yet to give up an earned run, although his record is a mediocre 1-1. While his teammates try to score against Irving, Haughey will do his best to keep Harvard's three and four hitters from doing the same damage they did last year. Marc Levy and James Crowley are the Crimson's two most explosive performers at the plate. Crowley pounded out six hits in two games against Penn last year, and Seddon knows the Quakers will have to keep him from beating them again. Senior Lance Berger will try to do the same when he takes the mound for the Quakers in the nightcap tomorrow. Chip Harris will likely get the ball for Harvard. Berger has struggled with his control a bit of late, but he is confident heading into this weekend's play. Perhaps no Quaker is more confident than junior Mike Shannon. Shannon has devastated opposing pitchers all season while occasionally fooling hitters as well. The combination pitcher/first baseman/designated hitter is hitting .421 this season with two home runs and a team-leading 24 RBIs. Shannon will pitch the fourth and final game of the weekend, the nightcap against Dartmouth (4-5, 0-0). "We have to pitch Mike last so he can play the field if we need him," Seddon said. "Otherwise he'd throw out his arm and we might not be able to use him at first base." On the mound, Shannon has compiled a 1-1 record in three starts with a 2.25 ERA. Shannon will follow the Quakers' ace, senior Dan Galles, who will try to shut down the Big Green in Sunday's opener. "Dartmouth will definitely hit the ball better than Harvard," Seddon said. "But they lost all their pitchers from last year, so I think they may be suspect there." Although the Big Green did graduate a number of quality hurlers, they have found at least one ample replacement. Peter Sellers is leading Dartmouth with a 1.13 ERA in 16 innings pitched. The freshman is 2-0 on his young career, and the Quakers are hoping he pitches tomorrow at Princeton instead of at Bower Field Sunday. Besides Sellers, the Big Green have only one starter with an ERA below 4. Even if Seddon is not fully up to date on Dartmouth's batting averages and strikeout numbers, he does understand the importance of getting off to a good start in league play. "After this, our next eight games are on the road," Seddon said. "Our kids all know how much these first games mean." With 25 years of experience on the Quakers' bench, it is likely Seddon knows more than he lets on.