A FRONT ROW VIEW: Baseball must change its ways quickly to earn Gehrig crown

As the last glimpse of sunlight slipped behind the West Philadelphia horizon yesterday, Mike Shannon fired his helmet across Bower Field. Meanwhile, the expletives muttered under Tim Henwood's breath echoed through the blustery April air. Frustration abounded for the Penn baseball team. And rightly so. The Quakers had just been swept by lowly Lehigh on their home field. They have now lost five in a row and six of their last seven, dropping their record to a measly 11-15. Ah, just weeks ago this was a season with such promise. Penn lost just two every-day starters and has its entire starting rotation back from the 1994 squad that was one game away from winning the Ivy League championship. This 1995 season was going to be a celebration of coach Bob Seddon's 25th anniversary at the Quakers' helm. This 1995 season was going to cap Penn's dominance in the major sports, possibly making the Quakers the first Ivy school in history to sweep the football, basketball and baseball crowns in the same academic year. The expectations have not been met. Not even close. Thus far, the Quakers have resembled the keystone cops more than Ivy League champions. In their last four contests, the Red and Blue have committed a whopping 13 errors. There was the booted ground ball with two out in the seventh inning and the game knotted at 2 that cost Penn the first game at Yale this past weekend. Three more miscues helped eradicate a 4-1 Penn lead in the nightcap. Yesterday, it was a ground ball between the legs that sparked a Lehigh rally in game one, giving the Engineers a 3-2 win. That error was one of three in the game, to only four Quakers hits. That's one way to neutralize solid veteran pitching. Don't worry, though. Physical miscues are not the only faux pas made by the Quakers. Penn has not played heads-up baseball of late, either. In yesterday's second game, Lehigh took control of a tied game in the top of the seventh without getting a hit. After a leadoff walk, the Penn catcher instructed his pitcher to try to make a play at second on a sacrifice bunt. Everybody was safe. With runners on first and second with nobody out, a pickoff attempt at second base sailed into center field. A sacrifice fly and suicide squeeze later, and the Quakers trailed 5-3, a lead they would never make up. But they could have. Stupidity erased a rare piece of good fortune for the Quakers. Penn's leadoff batter in the bottom of the seventh flared a single into right field. After reaching first base, he rounded the bag (possibly hoping to get a better view of the lovely AT & T building across the Schuylkill) and, believe it or not, the throw from the Lehigh right fielder nabbed him while he was trying to scurry back to first. So much for that all-important leadoff man. A baserunning mistake had cost Penn a run in the bottom of the sixth as well. Miscues like these have cost Penn almost all 15 games it has lost this season. Make no mistake about it though, this ball club does have talent. Right now, the team is lacking something else. What that is -- whether it's confidence, chemistry, desire or heart -- is hard to tell. That is not my judgement to make. The Quakers will make that judgement for themselves and everybody else when they travel to Ithaca for four games against Gehrig Division-rival Cornell this weekend. Penn trails the Big Red and Princeton by only one game in the standings. So, despite all the troubles and unfulfilled expectations, the sun has not entirely set on Penn's season. But shadows are lurking. Jed Walentas is a College junior from New York and Sports Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.